The Last of Us TV series co-creator and video game director Neil Druckmann reflected on the show’s second season following news of his stepping back creatively on the 2025 Emmys red carpet.
In early July, Druckmann announced that he would be less involved with the details of production for Season 3, which will focus on Abby’s (Kaitlyn Dever) perspective like the video game does.
“I’ve been enjoying working on the show so much, especially now that I’ve stepped away from the day-to-day responsibilities. I’ve been missing it a little bit, missing the people I’ve worked with. I made a lot of really good friends. I’ve worked with really insanely talented people from actors and department heads,” he told Deadline.
Neil Druckmann reflects on ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 | #Emmys pic.twitter.com/vVYzwTuk3P
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 14, 2025
Though Druckmann won’t write or direct any episodes for Season 3, he remains as a co-creator and executive producer on the series, which has several nominations tonight for Season 2.
“I’m super proud of [the show]. There’s a lot that was very authentic, a lot that we expanded on with the universe and I’m excited to see how we wrap it all up,” the creator added.
He also teased work with actress Tati Gabrielle, who portrayed Nora in Season 2 of The Last of Us, on his new project, the video game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
“You have certain expectations when you write a character, and the character of Jordan A. Mun that Tati plays in Intergalactic is quite a complex one,” he said. “There’s a very complex arc that she goes through.”
Druckmann, who also serves as the head of PlayStation’s Naughty Dog video game studio, teased that Gabrielle’s performance has shifted initial work for her character in the game.
“To see the dimensions that Tati’s brought to it, the charm that she brought to it, there’s a bad-ass-ness to her that she’s bringing to it,” he said. “To see how she plays off of all the rest of our cast — and we have a pretty elaborate cast in this game — it’s exceeded my expectations, and her performance is so inspiring. It has changed some of the writing based on what she’s brought to the table.”
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Neil Druckmann teases working with Tati Gabrielle for ‘Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’ | #Emmys pic.twitter.com/6yOnDQNvM0
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 14, 2025
The post Neil Druckmann Reflects On ‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 After Stepping Away From The “Day-To-Day”; Teases Work With Tati Gabrielle On New Video Game ‘Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet’ appeared first on Deadline.
