The ending of The Last of Us painted a miserable future for Joel and Ellie, but they pulled through somehow, or we wouldn’t have a sequel. One of the biggest mysteries of The Last of Us: Part II so far has been a simple question: “Is Joel dead?” Unfortunately, none of the teasers we’ve seen so far have given us anything close to an answer, and it seems like popular opinion seems to sway between, “Yes, Joel is dead,” and, “No he isn’t,” with each new peek we get at the game. However, it seems like that question has finally been answered, at least in part.
Naughty Dog has been mum on whether or not our burly protagonist from the first game will be back, and so far we’ve only got explicit confirmation that Ellie is a focal character in the game. In the reveal trailer for The Last of Us 2 that was released in 2016, we saw a man who looked an awful lot like Joel and sounded like him, but we never saw his face. Some fans have speculated that this is Joel’s brother Tommy, or that it’s Ellie’s psyche manifesting him.
In a recent interview with Newsweek, though, Naughty Dog co-director Kurt Margenau let it drop that Joel will be in the game in some capacity.
“What excites me about the game is that we’re gonna get to see how Joel and Ellie’s relationship has evolved. It’s a complicated relationship after the events of the first game. It’s been five years, and we’re going to see more of how they are now and where they go in the course of this game.”
We know that Ellie will be the only playable character in the game, but this simple sentence has put to rest any claims that Joel wouldn’t be in the game. We’ll see him, at least in some capacity, and, “see more of how they are now,” seems to indicate that Joel is alive during the events of The Last of Us: Part II.
We still don’t know exactly what to what extend Joel will be in the game. It would be interesting for him to be the sidekick this time around, or maybe he’ll even be the bad guy. One thing is for sure, though, The Last of Us 2 is one of the most anticipated PS4 exclusives that has been announced, and players can’t wait to get their hands on it.