Followers of HBO’s “The Final of Us” will in all probability be shocked to study that co-creator and co-showrunner Neil Druckmann, who developed the unique PlayStation video games along with his Naughty Canine crew, is stepping down as co-showrunner. With that mentioned, followers of Naughty Canine’s sport portfolio may need good cause to be actually excited.
“I’ve made the tough determination to step away from my inventive involvement in ‘The Final of Us’ on HBO,” Druckmann, who beforehand served as co-showrunner alongside Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”), mentioned in a press release posted on Naughty Canine’s official Instagram account. “With work accomplished on season 2 and earlier than any significant work begins on season 3, now could be the appropriate time for me to transition my full focus to Naughty Canine and its future initiatives, together with writing and directing our thrilling subsequent sport, ‘Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet,’ together with my duties as Studio Head and Head of Inventive.”
“Co-creating the present has been a profession spotlight,” Druckmann’s assertion went on so as to add. “It has been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to government produce, direct, and write on the final two seasons. I am deeply grateful for the considerate method and dedication the gifted forged and crew took to adapting ‘The Final of Us Half I’ and the continued adaptation of ‘The Final of Us Half II.'”
There is not any query that Druckmann has been an huge a part of HBO’s “The Final of Us” for the reason that collection started its run in early 2023, so whereas it looks like a sport changer to see him step away, it is good to know that it is in service of Naughty Canine’s continued work. So, what does Mazin should say about all this?
Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin might find yourself main The Final of Us on his personal
Retailers like Selection have obtained a press release straight from Craig Mazin, a man who was as soon as finest identified for the “Hangover” sequels earlier than he shifted his focus to a a lot darker topic and created the HBO collection “Chernobyl,” making it clear that he is an extremely expert dramatic showrunner. Unsurprisingly, Mazin was supportive of his co-showrunner’s subsequent transfer.
“It has been a inventive dream to work with Neil and produce an adaptation of his sensible work to life on HBO,” as Mazin’s assertion places it. “I could not have requested for a extra beneficiant inventive associate. As a real fan of Naughty Canine and Neil’s work in video video games, I am past excited to play his subsequent sport. Whereas he focuses on that, I am going to proceed to work with our sensible forged and crew to ship the present our viewers has come to anticipate. We’re so grateful to Neil and (the unique sport’s co-writer) Halley Gross for entrusting the unimaginable story of ‘The Final of Us Half II’ to us, and we’re simply as grateful to the tens of millions of individuals around the globe who tune in.”
The references each Neil Druckmann and Mazin make to “The Final of Us Half II,” Naughty Canine’s 2020 sequel to “The Final of Us,” ought to make sense to anybody who watched the present’s second season. It ends with — Semi-Previous spoiler Alert! — Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby searching at Seattle initially of a narratively important three-day run because the destiny of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) hangs within the steadiness. It’ll take some time, on the charge the present goes, to adapt all of “The Final of Us Half II,” the story of which spans years. In any case, it’s totally doable that Mazin will not substitute Druckmann (who may probably substitute the man who created the unique sport, in spite of everything?), however based mostly on his work on the collection, we will all really feel fairly snug about Mazin steering this metaphorical ship on his personal.
Neil Druckmann directed some extremely essential episodes of The Final of Us
One thing that followers of “The Final of Us” will possible miss most about Neil Druckmann’s departure from the collection is that, after chopping his enamel on directing video video games like “The Final of Us” itself, Druckmann stepped behind the digital camera for 2 extremely essential episodes within the collection. His first episode, “Contaminated,” is the second-ever episode of the present and opens with one in every of its most gorgeous scenes, the place we see Indonesian mycology professor Ratna Pertiwi (Christine Hakim) makes a horrifying realization concerning the cordyceps virus that can, finally, overtake the world and switch individuals into bloodthirsty zombies. (The scene concludes along with her in tears saying Jakarta ought to merely be bombed; it is frankly unforgettable.) That is additionally the episode that absolutely reveals Ellie’s immunity to her new caretakers Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Tess (Anna Torv) as they try to soundly transport her throughout a ruined United States — with Tess sacrificing herself to an contaminated horde to save lots of Joel and Ellie — so it is fairly essential … and well-directed by Druckmann. (Mazin, for his half, wrote this episode.)
Then, in season 2 of the collection, Druckmann took up the director’s chair as soon as extra for “The Worth,” the season’s penultimate episode (which was additionally written by Druckmann alongside Mazin and Halley Gross). After Joel’s surprising and brutal dying earlier within the season, “The Worth” serves as one massive flashback, just like the sport, that exhibits Joel and Ellie’s relationship all through the years as they reside within the protected settlement of Jackson, Wyoming. Not solely is that this the episode the place we discover out what really occurred to Joe Pantoliano’s character Eugene, but it surely additionally options some of the emotionally resonant scenes in all the present between Joel and Ellie, which is stunningly carried out by each Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Druckmann’s departure as showrunner is hard for the collection, and shedding him as a director is difficult too; perhapssomeday, he’ll pop again in for an additional directing credit score (although he could also be too busy, so let’s not maintain our breath).
“The Final of Us” is streaming on HBO Max now.
