🚨 BREAKING: Major Shakeup Coming to The Last of Us in Season 3 After Controversial Season 2! 🚨
💥 After a second season that sparked debates and controversy, The Last of Us is making a huge change for Season 3! What’s going to be different this time around? You won’t believe what’s coming next!

The Last of Us, which adapted the popular video game of the same name, was a massive success when it premiered in 2023. Season 2, however, drew a lot of criticism over many creative decisions and storylines.

Instead, Neil Druckmann will focus on his new Naughty Dog game. Druckmann had previously confirmed that they’re working on another game in addition to Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet last month. However, he didn’t reveal any details about the genre or title. However, that led to him to step down from his work on the adaptation of The Last of Us. In the announcement, officially shared on Naughty Dog’s social media account, Druckmann announced his decision to step down.

“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO,” the statement from the show’s co-creator started. “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.”

Those include “writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative,” the statement explained.

In his message, the co-creator explained, “Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons.” Druckmann also said that “I’m deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”

The Last Of Us Season 3 Will Tell a Different Story

Bella Ramsey in The Last of UsImage via HBO The Last of Us' Joel speaks in front of a mountain.Image via HBO Ellie crying while looking at Joel during the porch flashback in The Last of Us episode "The Price"Image via HBO Kaitlyn Dever as Abby Anderson on The Last of UsImage via HBO Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) walking through the woods on The Last of UsImage via HBO

Following the extremely successful Season 1, the show returned in 2025 with a new installment that proved to be controversial. Season 1 boasted a near-perfect 96% approval score from the critics out of almost 500 reviews, and it featured the Certified Fresh badge. Audiences also enjoyed the show, giving it an 86% approval score. However, that changed with Season 2.

The Last of Us Season 2 began adapting Part II, and received acclaim from the critics again. It boasts a Certified Fresh 92% score, and received praise for the story and performances. However, audiences didn’t like it, giving it a disastrous 37% approval score.

Season 3 will make a change and will officially focus on Kaitlyn Dever’s character, Abby, who was introduced in Season 2. “I think it was good to go on that journey to end up at HBO, end up at a place that leaned into those controversial decisions,” Druckmann said, referring to Joel’s death. “But the decisions are just what the story required, and even now, it’s like I can’t believe that they let us structure the series in this way. Meaning, like we just ended Season 2, and Season 3 is going to be starring – spoiler alert – Kaitlyn [Dever].”

The Last of Us Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Max. Season 3 doesn’t have a release date yet.