Neil Druckmann, the director behind the critically acclaimed The Last of Us, has recently shared exciting new details about Naughty Dog's upcoming game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. In a candid interview with Alex Garland, the visionary writer of the iconic zombie film 28 Days Later, Druckmann delved into the development process, revealing that Intergalactic has been in the works for an impressive four years.
Reflecting on the mixed reception to The Last of Us Part II, 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's lighthearted response, "Who gives a shit?" encapsulated the sentiment, to which Druckmann added, "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 dominated by a "pretty prominent religion" that has "changed, bastardized, and evolved" over time. Players will control Jordan, a skilled bounty hunter, who must navigate the complexities of this mysterious planet to uncover its secrets and escape its orbit—a feat no one has achieved in centuries.
Druckmann teased the plot, 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." He emphasized the game's unique approach, 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, the showrunners of The Last of Us Season 2, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, confirmed the return of spores in the upcoming season during SXSW 2025. Druckmann elaborated, "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." This revelation promises an escalation in both the number and types of infected, adding a new layer of tension to the series.
Additionally, actress Kaitlyn Dever, who will portray Abby in Season 2, shared her struggles with the internet's reactions to her role, highlighting the intense scrutiny faced by actors in such high-profile projects.
