Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross Exit HBO’s The Last of Us Series

In an unfortunate bit of timing that’ll only have pundits theorising if the statements are true or not, Neil Druckmann and Hailey Gross, co-creators and writers on The Last of Us: Part II, have announced they’re not returning for the third season of the TV series.

The news about Neil Druckmann, who was serving as an Executive Producer on the series, along with writing and directing some episodes across the first two seasons, leaving, was shared on the official Naughty Dog X account, with Druckmann writing:

“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.”

Meanwhile, Halley Gross shared that she wouldn’t be returning for the third season of the HBO series on her Instagram account, writing:

“With great care and consideration, I’ve decided to take a step back from my day-to-day work on HBO’s The Last of Us to make space for what comes next. I’m so appreciative of how special this experience has been.”

Whether it’s just timing or not, the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us wasn’t as well-received as the first. As we discussed the series on our podcast, ‘What Do You Wanna Watch?’, we found ourselves leaning into more criticism than we’d had in the first season.

What do you think about Druckmann and Gross stepping away before season three begins production? Let me know in the comments section below.