Neil Druckmann says his hope for The Last of Us season 3 is “to make sure it’s as deeply faithful as season 1”

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Adapting one of the best video games of all time for television was always going to be a big ask. Now the pressure is truly on for The Last of Us when it comes to its third season, given that the show is losing one of its showrunners, who also happens to be the man who created this universe in the first place. After sticking it out for two seasons, The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann announced he wouldn’t be handling season 3 of the show and that instead his focus was shifting back to Naughty Dog and upcoming projects.

As a result, the show’s co-creator, Craig Mazin, has now taken complete control, putting both hands on the wheel from here on out. But while he might be keeping his distance from the series, which left on a cliffhanger, teeing up Abby’s (Kaitlyn Dever) side of the story, Druckmann has confirmed he’ll still be in a safe proximity to it and hopes to see it check one important box when it’s finally completed.

“As much as I miss getting into the weeds and working on the effects shots and giving script notes and really getting into the details of it, I’m trying to just shepherd it,” he explained to Variety. “My hope for season 3, and what I’d like to think I can best contribute to it, is to make sure it’s as deeply faithful as season 1 was. Because I feel like that is the gold standard for this kind of adaptation, while enjoying all these beautiful expansions that happen naturally with the rest of the team and how they’re working on season 3. So that is where my involvement will stay, is at that very, very high level.”

Thankfully, the former co-showrunner and creator of The Last of Us franchise did confess how handling Joel and Ellie’s story in such a different medium has given him great insight into how he deals with what’s next on his to-do list, which includes the highly anticipated sci-fi adventure game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

“I will say I did really enjoy it, and I took a lot away from it. I joked that I went to the best film school by working on the show, and I got to just really collaborate with incredible artists,” explained Druckmann, with the show now having nine Emmy wins to its name. “There’s a lot that I learned, even just as far as the craft of making cinematic storytelling. There’s so much that overlaps with my work at Naughty Dog that I felt like I took quite a bit away from that. I think I could better serve this show and other adaptations like it in the future, having learned all this stuff — but my first responsibility, my first love, is video games, and it’s at Naughty Dog.”

We’ll have to wait and see just how things pan out as the harrowing world of infected, Clickers, and heartbreaking guitar solos continues without its maker. In the meantime, head here to get everything you need to know about The Last of Us season 3.