Neil Druckmann, the director behind the critically acclaimed The Last of Us, has recently shed more light on Naughty Dog's upcoming project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a revealing interview with Alex Garland, the mastermind behind the zombie thriller 28 Days Later, Druckmann discussed the development journey of Intergalactic, which has been in the works for four years.
Reflecting on past projects, Druckmann humorously noted the polarizing reception to The Last of Us 2. "We made a game, The Last of Us 2, 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," he shared. Garland's light-hearted response, "Who gives a shit?" encapsulated their shared sentiment. Druckmann continued, "Exactly. 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
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Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, featuring Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, unfolds in an alternate historical timeline centered around a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved significantly over time. The narrative follows Jordan, who must employ all her skills and intelligence to become the first person in centuries to escape the planet's orbit.
Druckmann teased the game's 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 emphasized the game's unique approach to isolation, stating, "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 series hinted at the reintroduction of spores. Speaking at SXSW 2025, Druckmann elaborated on the escalation of the infected, saying, "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 her role as Abby in The Last of Us Season 2, admitting the challenge of not getting swayed by online reactions.
