Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: the last of us

The Last of Us Writer Halley Gross Stepping Back Ahead of Season 3

The Last of Us writer Halley Gross announced she is also stepping back from the HBO series ahead of its upcoming third season.

There were actually two major developments on Wednesday that will have an impact on Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Kaitlyn Dever (Abby)-starring The Last of Us heading into its third season. Though Druckmann announcing that he was stepping away from the creative side of the HBO series to focus on the work going on over at Naughty Dog was the lead that most reports ran with (us included), writer Halley Gross ("The Price" and "Convergence," co-written with Mazin and Druckmann) also announced that she was stepping away from the hit HBO series. "With great care and consideration, I've decided to take a step back from my day-to-day work on HBO's 'The Last of Us' to make space for what comes next," Gross shared in an Instagram post. "I have some truly rad projects ahead that I can't wait to share, but for now, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who brought Ellie and Joel's world to life with such care."

Here's a look at Gross's post with the complete message, followed by a look back at what Druckmann had to share:

"I've made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in 'The Last of Us' on HBO," Druckmann shared on the official Naughty Dog Instagram account on Wednesday. "With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative."

Druckmann added, "Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It's been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons. I'm deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting 'The Last of Us' Part I and the continued adaptation of 'The Last of Us' Part II."

"It's been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO," Mazin shared in a statement about the news. "I couldn't have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil's work in video games, I'm beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I'll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect. We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of 'The Last of Us Part II' to us, and we're just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in."

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