'The Last of Us 2' release date: New plot and characters to be featured in new game

The Last of Us website

Developer Naughty Dog has already confirmed that the sequel to the 2013 hit "The Last of Us" will come after the "Uncharted 4" title, which would probably place it at the latter part of next year or early 2017. However, this hasn't stopped fans from speculating about what direction the sequel could take.

In an interview with Game Informer at the start of the year, Naughty Dog's Bruce Straley already told fans that the developers are entirely focused on meeting the demand for the "Uncharted 4" title, and so the "The Last of Us 2" game was put on the back burner for now. Says Straley, "That's all a big if - we're 110 percent in Uncharted 4 territory now. Blinders on, make this awesome."

Also, co-developer Neil Druckmann seems to think that the first game finished spectacularly, and agrees with some fans that the plotline is good for a game that doesn't require a follow-up. "We totally get it, because we have those same feelings as well."

"We have brainstormed sequel ideas for 'The Last of Us', and we've brainstormed ideas for new games, but all of that is put on ice right now while we work on 'Uncharted 4'."

One idea that is quickly gaining foothold is that the newest title will not be a sequel, but rather an entirely new take on the story, with a new plot and new characters.

In an article on Movie Pilot, Kenny McDonnell postulates that instead of a sequel, the next "The Last of Us" game would serve as a sequel to further explain the events on the first game, and may even center on the different characters the main protagonists Joel and Ellie encountered in their search for the Fireflies.

Moreover, some fans even say that in the first game, 20 years have passed since the opening moments and the time that the infection had spread, and it would a great timeline to use for the second game to explain events which led to the worldwide progress of the contagion.