Neil Druckmann, the director behind the acclaimed *The Last of Us* series, has recently shared exciting insights into Naughty Dog's upcoming game, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In a thought-provoking interview with Alex Garland, the renowned writer of the zombie film *28 Days Later*, Druckmann delved into the development journey of *Intergalactic*, revealing that the project has been in the works for four years.
Druckmann humorously reflected on the mixed reception to *The Last of Us 2*, stating, "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." Garland responded lightheartedly with, "Who gives a shit?" To which Druckmann agreed, adding, "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* is set in an alternate historical timeline and features a significant religion that has "changed and bastardized and evolved" over time. The game stars Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, who plays a bounty hunter crash-landing on a mysterious planet. This planet is home to a unique religion, and all communication with it ceased centuries ago. Jordan's character must navigate this unknown world, uncovering its history and solving its mysteries to find a way off the planet.
Druckmann elaborated on the game's theme, saying, "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 related news, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, showrunners for *The Last of Us* Season 2, have confirmed the return of spores, which were omitted from the first season. At SXSW 2025, Druckmann teased 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 highlighted the introduction of new spread mechanisms, including airborne spores, as seen in the latest trailer.
Additionally, actress Kaitlyn Dever, who will portray Abby in *The Last of Us* Season 2, discussed the challenges of managing online reactions to her role, admitting it's hard not to get caught up in the internet buzz.
