After years of post-apocalyptic survival stories and archaeological adventures, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet looks like a fresh opportunity for Naughty Dog to showcase a new sci-fi universe. Visually, the game draws on ’80s sci-fi movies with analog technology and ancient hardware like CD players, but you can also thank a genre-defining anime film for shaping Intergalactic’s look and feel.
In an interview with Patton Oswalt during the Comic Creators Block Party 2026, Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann said that Akira inspired Intergalactic on multiple levels, alongside other big anime properties like Cowboy Bebop.
“For Intergalactic, we actually took a lot of inspiration from anime. Akira–everybody loves Akira–just like the animation, the big ideas, the kind of philosophical sci-fi ideas within that,” Druckmann said. “We took a lot of inspiration from anime, stylistic inspiration, how they approach the story. The big kind of philosophical questions and ideas. We really want to tackle that, and surprise players in interesting ways. By the time you get to the end of Akira, it just goes on this wild ride. And we want to take someone on a similar wild ride.”
Druckmann mentioned that he grew up with the laser-disc version of Akira, the landmark 1988 anime film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It’s not hard to see that influence visually, as the protagonist Jordan A. Mun wears a jacket that looks like it was pilfered from the wardrobe of Akira lead Shotaro Kaneda, and her spaceship also looks like it was manufactured by the same company responsible for the hotheaded biker’s iconic motorcycle–maybe we’ll even see an Akira slide in the game.
Philosophically, Akira covers a wide range of topics explored over the decades, with the film primarily centered on themes of human technological overreach, spiritual immaturity, and the cyclical nature of creation and destruction. Those ideas have been debated for decades, and Naughty Dog has proven adept at balancing heavy themes with engaging gameplay, particularly in The Last of Us, which balanced a tale of vengeance with shootouts and stealth.
A closer look at its themes isn’t too far off either, as Druckmann confirmed that Naughty Dog will have more to share about the game in 2027.
