Neil Druckmann has shed more light on why he stepped back from HBO's The Last of Us. Speaking to Variety, the Naughty Dog exec said he'd reached the goals he'd set out with adapting the game to screen. "I wanted to elevate The Last of Us beyond the people that have played the game," said Druckmann. Druckmann decided to depart from the series once the team had entered the writers' room for its third season. While he's stepped away from the showrunning side of things, Druckmann said he hopes to still contribute in other ways.