Naughty Dog seemed to have confirmed that Ellie will be the only playable character in The Last of Us Part II.

During a behind closed door session at E3, which featured multiple developers from the game, when asked if there will be other playable characters other than Ellie, co-lead game designer, Richard Cambier, answered with the standard, “We aren’t saying anything about that yet.”

But it was creative director Neil Druckmann who then chimed in and dropped the bombshell, saying that, “Ellie is the only playable character in the game.”

Now, this seems like a pretty big revelation to make, and that too so candidly, at such an early stage of the game’s unveiling. Unless this is a misdirection to lead fans into believing something else while surprising us with the final game.

This is a change from the events of the original The Last of Us, as both Joel and Ellie are playable characters during certain points of the story, with Joel being the main character played throughout. But with the sequel, it appears that Ellie will be taking point, something the crew of Naughty Dog has been saying since the game’s announcement. And that leads to even more interesting questions with Joel. Is he alive? Is he incapacitated? Do him and Ellie journey at some point? Despite making an appearance at the end of the first trailer, Joel was nowhere to be seen in the second or third teaser.

A lot of the game’s marketing has been turned Ellie’s way and the campaign has only increased fan excitement for the long-awaited sequel. Since the trailer’s premiere earlier this week, it’s been getting huge buzz on social media, and is sure to get even more gameplay featured in a few months when PlayStation Experience rolls around this December. Hopefully we’ll get even more information about the game at that point…and maybe some more info on what Joel’s role may be.