'The Last of Us 2' Theory: Joel May Not Be as Dead as Everyone Thinks After All

By Janna Dela Cruz, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, May 02, 2017

Ever since "The Last of Us 2" was revealed, fans have been plagued with one question in mind: Is Joel alive or will he exist in the game as a figment of Ellie's imagination?

Many are under the impression it will be the latter the way the character was presented in the trailer released for the highly anticipated game last year.

However, fans are now second-guessing this because of a photo posted by Ashley Johnson, the voice actress behind "The Last of Us 2" protagonist Ellie.

The photo featured Johnson and her co-voice actor Troy Baker, the man who gave life to Joel. Looking at their getup in the image, they were doing some motion caption work.

This had many believing that Joel is not as dead in "The Last of Us 2" as everyone thinks because Baker is doing mo-cap work for the character.

Of course, the photo does not tell the whole story. After all, alive or dead, Joel will still be integral to the sequel so Baker will have to do motion capture work either way.

That being said, it will take more than just the image to dismiss or confirm the dead Joel theory in "The Last of Us 2." Unfortunately, Naughty Dog likes its mystery and would want to keep fans guessing.

This is exactly what they did in the first trailer. The developer has been silent ever since despite the prevailing theories about the game and they are not looking to start spilling the beans now.

The studio is intent on taking the graphics to the next level in "The Last of Us 2." This entails extra work and time so fans might have to wait for a while before they are treated a brand-new look to the game again.

Joel's death is not the only theory out there about "The Last of Us 2." There are fans who are also speculating that Ellie is pregnant, which is yet to be confirmed or debunked as well.