Druckmann: Naughty Dog Not Involved in Last of Us Season 3

Neil Druckmann, the creator of The Last of Us video game franchise, has clarified that he and his studio, Naughty Dog, have no creative involvement in the upcoming third season of the HBO television adaptation. In an interview with The Washington Post, Druckmann stated that while the show is concluding its run, the franchise itself is far from over, with new projects in development. Druckmann's comments come as filming for the third and final season of the HBO series is underway. He emphasized that the show's creative direction for this season was handled solely by showrunner Craig Mazin. "I wasn't involved in shaping this season's creative direction, and Naughty Dog did not have a creative role in the direction of this season," Druckmann said. He confirmed that the third season will "wrap up" the series, which is adapting the story of the video game The Last of Us Part II. Despite his distance from the television production, Druckmann stressed that Naughty Dog remains the guardian of the intellectual property. "Naughty Dog is still the steward of this IP and even though this might be the end of this adaptation, we're not done with The Last of Us," he said.