Naughty Dog still owns The Last of Us IP — and Neil Druckmann hints at new projects

Neil Druckmann has made it clear he has zero involvement in The Last of Us Season 3, but confirmed that Naughty Dog has multiple projects in the franchise pipeline — and at least one of them could be a third game.

Speaking to The Washington Post about video game writing, Druckmann was direct about his distance from the HBO show's third season: "I wasn't involved in shaping this season's creative direction, and Naughty Dog did not have a creative role in the direction of this season. So I can't personally speak to how production is progressing." He left the show after Season 2 wrapped, citing his focus on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the sci-fi action game he's currently directing at Naughty Dog. Season 3, which stars Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, is being handled entirely by showrunner Craig Mazin — and will be the final season, wrapping up what was originally planned as a four-season run.

Despite stepping back from the TV side, Druckmann was careful to flag that Naughty Dog isn't done with the IP. "It's important for us to note that as the creator of the games, Naughty Dog is still steward of this IP," he said, "and even though this might be the end of this adaptation, we're not done with The Last of Us. There's a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I'm very excited to talk about." He didn't specify whether those projects are games, new adaptations, or something else entirely — but the phrasing leaves the door open for The Last of Us Part III.

Druckmann has teased a possible third game before, so this isn't the first time fans have been left reading between the lines. For now, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is Naughty Dog's announced priority, and any Last of Us news will apparently have to wait until Druckmann decides the time is right.