'The Last Of Us 2' and Neil Druckmann's promise of 'a story [that is] worthy of Joel and Ellie'

TLOU Part II — "The Last Of Us Part II" was announced for the PlayStation 4 on December 2016. YouTube/PlayStation

“The Last Of Us Part II” was officially announced in last year’s PlayStation Experience event, which was followed by a panel with creative director Neil Druckmann and voice actress Ashley Johnson. And while the reveal trailer was enough to have fans clapping their hands, it really did not give much away -- but Druckmann has been quick to squish any and all doubt.

Druckmann posted an official entry on the PlayStation Blog that announced he was thrilled about the reveal. “I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to finally be able to say that Ellie and Joel are back,” he wrote. He affirmed fans of the love that his team had for the characters and how they wanted to make sure they had a narrative worthy of the franchise before jumping onto production.

“We knew that it needed to be story worth telling,” he said. “A story worthy of Joel and Ellie.” Druckmann then shared how Naughty Dog had spent years developing a story and even admitted it had almost given up. However, the team finally “uncovered a story that felt special -- a story that evolved into an epic journey.”

The post did not disclose any real spoilers, but fans of the franchise have been active in trying to figure out the storyline by picking up evidence from “The Last Of Us 2” reveal trailer, which can be watched below. In the clip, Ellie makes it clear that she is out for blood and -- possibly -- revenge. And because of this tone, audiences have picked up on a popular theory that Joel has died and that Ellie is avenging her father-figure’s death.

However, there are other individuals that have picked up support on their theories countering Joel's death. Arguments that disputed why Joel did not age significantly -- five years would not be as evident on him as they are in Ellie -- and why he would have let Ellie get so beaten -- the years would have trained her for battle -- surfaced and stuck around as well.

But Druckmann did confirm one thing about “The Last Of Us 2” storyline, and that is that it would revolve around hate. Moreover, Ellie was confirmed as the main protagonist and that she is 19 when the sequel kicks off. And perhaps more importantly, that the story will centre on the original characters, instead of jumping to another cast altogether.

Druckmann admitted that the release of “The Last Of Us 2” is still “a ways off,” which is as vague as it can get when it comes to revealing the launch date. Nevertheless, it looks as if the wait will continue to be worth it. If the trailer is anything to go by, the sequel will capture and excite -- much like its predecessor.