The Last of Us: Part 2 Director Addresses Sequel Worries, Says "Trust Us"

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann has asked fans to put their faith in the studio as it returns to the story of Joel and Ellie for The Last of Us: Part 2.

Speaking during a panel held at PlayStation Experience, Druckmann started by confirming that the sequel takes place a few years after the events of the first game, when Ellie is aged 19. He went on to acknowledge worries among fans that creating a sequel diminishes the poignancy of the first game's ending and the journey its main characters went through.

"So much thought went into this and I know there's a lot of people that feel this trepidation about coming back to these characters and revisiting what that ending means and worrying whether that's going to spoil the first game," he said.

"You have to understand we feel all those things as well. No one loves these characters more than we do and we would not do this if we didn't feel like we had the right idea. The 'Part II' is really doubling down on that to say we believe in this so much. We're not trying to avoid it."

According to Druckmann, Naughty Dog is treading the two games as companions that, together, depict an overarching narrative.

"I played with so many ideas that had different characters and it never felt right," he explained. "The Last of Us is about these two characters specifically. So yes, the Part II is saying this is a complementary story to the first game, but the two together are going to tell this larger tale.

"All I ask is that fans of the first one put faith in us and trust us. We're going to do right by you."

Earlier in the panel, Druckmann also revealed that players will primarily control Ellie in The Last of Us: Part 2. In the first game Joel was the main playable character, and this reversal extends into the underpinning theme of hate, as Ellie can be seen in the debut trailer threatening to kill a group of as of yet unknown characters.