'The Last of Us Part 2' news: Ellie's thirst for revenge intensifies in game's sequel

Naughty Dog pulled a surprise during the PlayStation Experience 2016 event last weekend by announcing the return of Joel and Ellie in "The Last of Us Part 2."

The announcement came with a cinematic trailer showing that Ellie is now 19 years old. The trailer opens with shots of an empty forest and a deserted street, but the logo of the Fireflies can be seen painted on a dilapidated street sign.

Then Ellie's calloused and shaking hands were focused on the next shot, where she was about to play a haunting song using a guitar.

Joel was then seen entering the house where Ellie was staying. He walked past two dead bodies before finding Ellie inside a room, playing the guitar in front of another bloody corpse. He then asked her if she is really determined to do what she wants to do, which she replied with: "I'm going to find and I'm going to kill every last one of them."

While Ellie's plans were not specifically mentioned in the trailer, it can be assumed that the character is plotting to kill all the members of the Fireflies for revenge.

In the panel presentation for "The Last of Us Part 2" after the trailer was shown, the game's writer and director Neil Druckmann revealed that Ellie will be the central playable character in the game's upcoming sequel.

He also mentioned that the next game will be different from the first one that was released in 2013, which showed that Joel did everything that he can to protect Ellie because of the love that he felt for the young orphan. This time, the motivation for Ellie's actions will be "about hate."

The game director also asked the fans of the first game to expect that they are doing everything that they can to keep up with their expectations. "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," Druckmann stated.

The release date of "The Last of Us Part 2" is still unrevealed, but the game is expected to come out in 2018.