‘The Last of Us Part 2’ release date, plot: Will Ellie go through the same tragedy that Joel experienced?

The plot of the first "The Last of Us" game was one of its huge selling points, along with its action-adventure gameplay. Fans can expect the same in "The Last of Us Part 2," as it was recently hinted that Ellie might go through a similar path that Joel experienced.

'The Last of Us Part 2’: Game director hints at more parallels between games

An eagle-eyed fan spotted a couple of visual similarities between the first game and "The Last of Us Part 2." The images were shared on Twitter and got the attention of game director Neil Druckmann, who seemed to have given the image comparisons his stamp of approval.

Aside from sharing the social media post, he added that the image similarities are not the only parallels between the two titles. As expected, Druckmann did not drop any nugget of spoilers, but fans familiar to what Joel went through in the first game might already have a clue.

It should be noted that Joel is no longer the main protagonist in the upcoming game. Ellie takes that role in "The Last of Us Part 2," making it plausible for some major points in Joel's overall story and character development to happen again for Ellie in some capacity.

‘The Last of Us Part 2’ plot: Is Ellie’s love interest Dina going to die?

At the core of Joel's character and his eventual decisions in the first game were linked to the death of his daughter named Sarah. Earlier trailers have shown fans they will be seeing a vengeful Ellie in the second game. With all these considered, it would not be surprising if what fuels Ellie's rage in "The Last of Us Part 2" is also the death of a loved one.

Going back to what fans have seen in "The Last of Us Part 2" teasers, it appears that Ellie's love interest, Dina, is the dearest person to the main character. To justify Ellie's bloodlust, a tragic event involving Dina is very likely happening.

Fans will have to wait a few more months to see how Ellie's story unfolds. The release date of "The Last of Us Part 2" has been moved from February to May 29, 2020.