Ellie will be the lead playable character in The Last of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog has revealed in a panel session at this year's PlayStation Experience.

Neil Druckmann took to the stage with Troy Baker - who plays the returning Joel, the main playable character in the first game - and Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie.

Details were understandably thin for a game that's not due out for a while - and the trailer was intended for next year's E3 but Naughty Dog elected to show it at this year's PlayStation Experience - but Druckmann did give a broad view of what to expect.

The story is set five years after the first game, with Ellie now 19 years old. "If the first game, the theme was the love between these two characters... This story's the counter of that," said Druckmann. "It's about hate."

This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings

The Last of Us' original end drew lots of praise, leading many fans to believe the story of Joel and Ellie did not need a sequel - something Druckmann addressed.

"So much thought went into this - I know there's trepidation about going back to these characters. We feel that as well. No-one loves these characters more than we do, and we wouldn't do it if we didn't have the right idea. I had ideas with different characters and it didn't feel right. The Last of Us is about these two characters. All I ask is that fans of the first one put some faith in us - we're going to do right by you."