While there's a "50/50 percent" chance that Joel and Ellie will return to "Last of Us 2" there's still hope that Naughty Dog could finally announce a release date for the said game.
According to VC Post the gaming studio could still pursue with highly anticipated post apocalyptic game following the release of the movie adaptation.
"Once Uncharted 4 and The Last of Us movie are taken care of, however, it might be a different story altogether. Unless Naughty Dog wants to move onto an entirely new IP, they might finally get around to giving us the The Last of Us sequel that so many of the game's fans are asking for."
However, according to Cinema Blend there's a great chance that Neil Druckmann will no longer include Joel and Ellie in the game, instead he'll introduce new characters to the plot.
"It's possible he won't want to compromise that ending with a sequel," Cinema Blend reported. "The development team at Naughty Dog might opt for a new story with never-before-seen characters instead."
Furthermore, the game creator said that he's still trying to think if he'll consider making a sequel even if voice actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson decide not to return to the game.
"I'd probably reconsider the story at that point [if Troy and Ashley didn't return]. They are Joel and Ellie to me," he said according to Cinema Blend.
However, the "Last of Us 2" PS4 release date is definitely "on ice" according to director Bruce Straley as reported by Game Spot.
"We're 110 percent in Uncharted 4 territory now," Straley said. "Blinders on, make this awesome."
"We totally get it, because we have those same feelings as well. We have brainstormed sequel ideas for 'The Last of Us,' and we've brainstormed ideas for new games, but all of that is put on ice right now while we work on 'Uncharted 4.'"
Movie Pilot on the other hand has come up with a plot that could still include Joel and Ellie in "Last of Us 2" while it won't compromise the new storyline.
"Their history is a pretty fascinating one, and the potential for The Last of Us 2 being a prequel following this uprising would be fairly high," the publication suggested. "We could take charge of Marlene as she leads the revolution, or we could possibly play as one of the other members of the rebel group. Maybe the story could eventually run in tandem with Joel and Ellie's, as we play as someone else living their life during this time. It'd be interesting for me at least to explore how a faction like this becomes such a strong opposing force to corruption and forced rule."
