Neil Druckmann Aims to Make New Game 'Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet' Confusing and Challenging

Neil Druckmann, the director behind the critically acclaimed *The Last of Us*, has recently provided more insight into Naughty Dog's ambitious new project, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. In a candid interview with Alex Garland, the writer of the iconic zombie film *28 Days Later*, Druckmann revealed that the game has been in development for four years.

Reflecting on the creative journey, Druckmann humorously remarked, "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, in response, lightheartedly quipped, "Who gives a shit?" 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 revolves around a "pretty prominent religion" that has evolved significantly over time. The protagonist, played by Jordan A. Mun as Tati Gabrielle, is a bounty hunter who crash-lands on a mysterious planet. Her mission is to uncover the secrets of this world, which has been cut off from communication for centuries, and find a way to escape its orbit.

Druckmann teased the narrative, stating, "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. 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, Druckmann and *The Last of Us* Season 2 showrunner Craig Mazin confirmed that "spores are back" after their absence in Season 1. Speaking at SXSW 2025, Druckmann elaborated on the upcoming HBO show, saying, "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. 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, who plays Abby in *The Last of Us* Season 2, discussed the challenges of her role, admitting she struggles not to check the internet's reaction to her performance.