Since The Last of Us season 2 premiered earlier this spring, the fan-favorite HBO drama series has had some incredibly good luck. HBO renewed the show for a third season and season 2 picked up a whopping 16 Emmy Award nominations, and the series seems to be as creatively on fire as ever. However, there's a big change in store ahead behind the scenes for season 3.
Ahead of The Last of Us season 3, co-creator and Naughty Dog video game developer Neil Druckmann announced that he's leaving the series, leaving Crag Mazin in charge as the sole showrunner. It's a big season of change for the series after the departure of Pedro Pascal following Joel's death as well as Kaitlyn Dever's rise as the focus of the upcoming episodes.
In a new interview with Variety, Emmy Award-nominated The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey broke their silence on Druckmann leaving the series for the first time since his exit was revealed. While acknowledging that the show's creator will be stepping away and there will be an inherent difference moving forward, Ramsey said Druckmann's influence won't go away.
Bella Ramsey reacts to Neil Druckmann leaving The Last of Us season 3
"The world of The Last of Us is his creation, and so his voice and creative input. It doesn’t just go away in season 3 because he’s not as actively involved. It will always be his creation. And we’re always in everything that we do, honoring the game and Neil’s creation. He’ll definitely be missed on set. But his spirit is the story," Ramsey explained to Variety on the Awards Circuit podcast.
It's always difficult for fans when a creator steps away from a beloved show and a new showrunner takes over. Thankfully, Mazin was already heavily involved with Druckmann on The Last of Us as co-showrunners, so that decreases the concern that the show could possibly shift direction in a drastic way that alienates fans. But that doesn't means that it still isn't worrisome to some capacity.
Luckily, there's plenty of time for HBO, Mazin, and the whole creative team to chart the next chapter of the series as the cable network's boss recently confirmed that season 3 likely wouldn't hit our screens much before sometime in 2027. That's a decent period of time that allows for the series to figure out what it will be without Druckmann on board without rushing full steam ahead.
Speaking of what's in store in season 3, Variety attempted to force more details out of Ramsey about how much of the new season they will be in, but they were slight with details. When asked how much of Ellie we'll see in The Last of Us season 3, Ramsey simply told the outlet, "I sort of know, but I can’t tell you, I'm afraid." Should we read too far into that statement, or just take it at face value?
The Last of Us seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on HBO Max.
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