Last of Us Showrunner Craig Mazin Says He Will Not Return to Adapt Third Game (If There Is One)

The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin will walk away from the series after the second game is adapted. The Last of Us is an incredibly beloved story, but unlike some other franchises, it doesn’t have a ton of entries. There are two video games that have been released multiple times now and are now being adapted into a TV series for HBO. It’s pretty small scale relative to something like Game of Thrones or even Fallout which has an extensive history to pull from. With only two games, one might assume The Last of Us would be a pretty short lived show. However, that’s not really the case.

While The Last of Us season one adapted the entirety of the first game, The Last of Us season 2 only adapts a piece of the second game as it’s much larger and denser. HBO believes that The Last of Us will run for four seasons, three of which are expected to cover the second game. However, The Last of Us Part 2 the video game seemingly left the door open for a third game. As it stands, developer Naughty Dog isn’t committed to making The Last of Us Part 3 because it has so much on its plate right now with the show and a new sci-fi game for PS5. Given how long games take to make, it could be 5 – 10 years before a third game even happens, assuming it does.

The Last of Us Showrunner Has No Plans to Adapt a Third Game If it Happens

So, what does that mean for the show? ComicBook.com interviewed The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin to talk about the upcoming second season and asked him if they would continue past the second game. Mazin responded by noting that he personally has no plans to do anything with the show after they finish adapting The Last of Us Part 2: “I will be done,” said Mazin.

“This is a hard gig,” he continued. “My intention is to see this through to the end of the story as it currently exists. The source material that’s there, if we get the opportunity to do so, and I hope we do. And then, I’m going to be very excited to find whatever the next thing is. I’m committed to telling this story because I love it.”

Mazin currently has no idea if there will be more to The Last of Us, whether that be in the form of a game or continuing the TV series. Mazin plans to walk away as showrunner, writer, and director of the series after Part 2‘s adaptation is completed, but would be open to returning as a “friend” or consultant if HBO or Naughty Dog opted to continue the story.

“Is there more Last of Us? That primarily will sit with Neil [Druckmann] and Naughty Dog, and that’s their choice. If there are more stories to tell, I would love to be like a friend to the production. Happy to do whatever the easiest thing is, but to be the writer and director and a showrunner and all that, I think this one’s gonna be the one for me.”

So, if The Last of Us Part 3 does actually materialize, don’t expect Mazin to be intimately involved. It does seem like the plan for everyone is currently to end things with The Last of Us Part 2‘s story, likely in the fourth season. However, we still have a few more years until we get there, so anything could change between now and then. If the following two seasons take as long as season two did, there will likely be about four more years of The Last of Us on MAX. Could Naughty Dog conceivably pump out a third game by then? Maybe if it’s already secretly in production as some rumors suggest, but franchise creator Neil Druckmann has doubled down on suggesting nothing is currently in the works.