Dec 06, 2016 06:30 AM EST By Eileen De Santos, UniversityHerald Reporter

There are speculations that the playable character in the first installment, Joel, will no longer appear in "The Last of Us 2." It is said that the reason why Ellie is now the playable character is due to Joel's untimely demise.

Sequel Preview Trailer Shown

The promo video for "The Last of Us 2" showed a much older and weary Ellie playing the guitar in a house filled with dead bodies. Her appearance suggests that she was the one responsible for their deaths. She sings a haunting song called "Through the Valley" as another person comes inside and inspects the aftermath.

Is Joel Dead?

The man's face is not shown but game fans immediately know that it's Joel. This is the part where fans are divided regarding the status of the protagonist in the first installment. A number of fans insist that the Joel in the video trailer is nothing more than a vision that Ellie created in her mind. The developer's reluctance to show his face is cited as a basis for this theory. Such reasoning might seem far-fetched but the fact that Ellie is now the playable character in "The Last of Us 2" seems to bolster this theory. Many fans, however, also believed that Joel is not the person on the video, and are vocal about their argument in social forums like Reddit.

What Do The Developer Say?

"The Last of Us 2" developer Naughty Dog was quite clear that both Ellie and Joel will be in the game together. This stance is casting serious on the viability of the "Joel is dead" theory, but its proponents have modified it by saying Joel is alive at the very early stages but somehow dies before or during the sequel. The game's writer Neil Druckman earlier said that Ellie "running on hate" is also giving rise to speculations that the she is hunting down Joel's killers. The upcoming game is still under development and will reportedly be release sometime in 2018.

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