'The Last of Us: Part II' plot rumors, latest news 2016: Sequel to focus on Ellie and revenge?

The PlayStation Experience event this early December was a stellar moment for the Sony-owned Naughty Dog game studio with the announcement of its two new games: "Uncharted: The Lost Legacy" and most importantly, the much-awaited "The Last of Us: Part II."

The reveal trailer for "The Last of Us: Part II" featured the character Ellie playing her guitar in a dark and grieving fashion inside a house, as the camera follows gun-wielding Joel traveling around the same house and seeing all the dead bodies in each room. Joel finds Ellie and asks her what she's doing and if she plans to go through with what she has set out to accomplish.

"I'm gonna find them, and I am gonna kill every last one of them," Ellie responded to Joel.

With the release of the dark and melancholic trailer, speculations have arisen, suggesting the possibility of Joel's demise. As reported by Game N Guide, the new Ellie in the trailer of "The Last of Us: Part II" looks like a hardened young girl who is filled with hatred, a stark contrast to the happy and loving Ellie depicted in the first installment of the franchise. This drastic change in the young character's personality is believed to be attributed to Joel's unlucky fate.

According to a report by Forbes, the main premise of "The Last of Us: Part II" is that Joel is dead, and Ellie is his avenger. The Joel in the trailer is possibly only a "grief ghost" or "sadness apparition" which is based on Ellie's memory of him. Joel may not be a playable lead, and Ellie could be taking center stage in the sequel as she goes on the quest to seek vengeance against her yet-to-be-known enemies to gain some sort of justice for Joel's death.

Although the people behind the development of the game already have a release date in mind, "The Last of Us: Part II" still has no officially announced release date. However, popular opinion suggests that it could be released as early as 2017 or even as late as 2018.