Neil Druckmann, the director behind the acclaimed The Last of Us, has recently shed light on Naughty Dog's next ambitious project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a revealing interview with Alex Garland, the mastermind behind the zombie thriller 28 Days Later, Druckmann discussed the four-year journey of developing this new game. He humorously reflected on the polarizing reception of 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's light-hearted response, "Who gives a shit?" prompted Druckmann to share the team's playful shift in focus, "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 introduces players to an alternate historical timeline, featuring a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved significantly 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 religion that has cut off all communication with the outside world for centuries. Druckmann teased, "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." The narrative aims to immerse players in a world where they must unravel the planet's history and secrets to find a way to escape its orbit, a feat not accomplished in 600 years.

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. At SXSW 2025, Druckmann elaborated on the upcoming HBO show, stating, "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 highlighted the introduction of new infection methods, including airborne spores, which were teased in the latest trailer. Additionally, actress Kaitlyn Dever shared her experience playing Abby in Season 2, admitting the challenge of not getting swayed by online reactions.