Naughty Dog co-president and “The Last of Us” co-producer Neil Druckman appeared on the “Sacred Symbols+” podcast and confirmed that his new PS5 title “Interstellar: Heretic Prophet” has become the core of his current work. The creative director revealed to host Colin Moriarty about his role change in Naughty Dog, his plans for the future of The Last of Us series, and how he adjusted the focus of his multi-line creation.
Neil said that the work on the second season of HBO’s “The Last of Us” is “nearing its end”, with only a small amount of interviews and promotional work left, and the team is about to fully devote to pre-production of the third season. “The writing team for season 3 has just launched”, he revealed that discussions have begun about renewing it for a fourth season. But it is clearly emphasized: “I have turned my entire focus to Interstellar: Heretical Prophet”.
Without going into details, he described it as a completely original grand project: “This is probably the most exciting project I’ve been with since the original The Last of Us.” “In order to concentrate resources on developing new IPs, Naughty Dog has gradually reduced the scale of other projects.
The creative leader admitted the pressure of multi-frontal combat, especially balancing the dual responsibilities of game development and film and television adaptation: “Time is the most valuable resource now, and it is becoming more and more difficult to coordinate schedules. Looking back on the HBO adaptation experience, he called it a “super cool learning process”: “One month of film and television production experience may be better than four years of film school.” But as the second season came to an end and the third season began, he realized the need for integration: “Interstellar: Heretic Prophet is now an absolute priority. When faced with a choice, either decline another offer or hand over to the person in charge – because that person won’t be me. ”
Speaking about Naughty Dog’s positioning shift, Neil admits that the studio is in a period of adjustment: “We make our best work when we are passionate about the project. This statement suggests that “Interstellar: Heretic Prophet” has become the new focus of gravity, and the previously rumored “The Last of Us” multiplayer project and “Uncharted” sequel seem to have been shelved.
He also emphasized the long-term plan to cultivate a new generation of creative talent: “Although I will occasionally participate in video conferences, I must rely on the team to run the daily decisions of Naughty Dog and Interstellar: Heretic Prophet.” I love to see the growth of my colleagues – they always exceed expectations. ”
