Neil Druckmann, the director of The Last of Us, has offered new insights into Naughty Dog's upcoming project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a candid interview with Alex Garland, the mind behind the zombie film 28 Days Later, Druckmann revealed that the game has been in development for four years. He humorously reflected on the reception of The Last of Us 2, noting, "We made certain creative decisions that got us a lot of hate. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate that game." When Garland jokingly responded with, "Who gives a shit?", Druckmann agreed, adding, "But the joke is like, you know what, let's do something that people won't care as much about — let's make a game about faith and religion."

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet Screenshots

4 Images

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet unfolds in an alternate historical timeline and revolves around a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved significantly over time. The game follows Jordan A. Mun, portrayed by Tati Gabrielle, who must utilize all her skills to become the first person in centuries to escape the planet's orbit. Druckmann teased the setting, saying, "This whole religion takes place on this one planet, and then at one point, all communication stops. And you're playing a bounty hunter that's chasing her bounty, and she crash lands on this planet."

He further elaborated on the game's unique approach, "So many of the previous games we've done, there's always, like, an ally with you. I really want you to be lost in a place that you're really confused about what happened here, who are the people here, what was their history. And in order to get off this planet — again, no one has been heard from this planet for 600 years or so — if you ever have hoped to have a chance to get off, you have to figure out what happened here."

In other news, last week, The Last of Us Season 2 showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin confirmed that "spores are back" after their absence in Season 1. The latest trailer for the upcoming HBO show hinted at the reintroduction of spores. Speaking at SXSW 2025, Druckmann elaborated, "There is an escalation of numbers and types of infected, but also, as you see in the trailer, an escalation of the vector of how this thing spreads." He explained the evolution from Season 1, "We had this new thing that wasn’t in the game of these tendrils that spread, and that was one form. And then one shot you see in this trailer, there are things in the air."

Additionally, actress Kaitlyn Dever discussed playing Abby in The Last of Us Season 2, admitting she struggles to avoid checking online reactions to her performance.