Neil Druckmann, the director behind the acclaimed The Last of Us, recently provided more insights into Naughty Dog's eagerly awaited game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In an enlightening interview with Alex Garland, known for his work on the zombie film 28 Days Later, Druckmann delved into the development journey, revealing that the project has been in progress for four years.
Druckmann humorously reflected on the mixed reception to The Last of Us 2, saying, "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's light-hearted response, "Who gives a shit?" prompted Druckmann to elaborate, "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 setting. The narrative revolves around a "pretty prominent religion" that has undergone significant transformations over time. Players will follow Jordan's character as she attempts to become the first individual in centuries to escape the planet's orbit.
Druckmann teased the plot, explaining, "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, 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."
Last week, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, the showrunners for The Last of Us Season 2, 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, "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 further explained, "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."
In other news related to The Last of Us Season 2, actress Kaitlyn Dever discussed her role as Abby, admitting the challenge of not getting swayed by online reactions.
