Spoilers for both Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us Part II in the following.
Potential concept art for The Last Of Us Part II could have been teased by Naughty Dog as early as 2016. An Easter Egg of a grown-up Ellie appears during the epilogue sequence to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – and you need to know where to look. In the epilogue to Uncharted 4, Nathan Drake’s final story in the franchise, the story picks up several years into the future, and we meet Cassie Drake, Nathan and Elena’s daughter.
As she walks around their beach home, there’s a poster concealed on her bedroom wall that’s worth a second look. As Cassie walks around her room, she takes a moment to study the pictures on the walls, including a piece of comic artwork with the title “American Daughter.”
The full title, concealed by a set of conveniently situated polaroids, clearly refers to The Last Of Us franchise. Most intriguingly, the artwork features an older, pregnant Ellie in a gas mask, surveying the ruins of a desolate wasteland. Considering that The Last Of Us Part II had been midway through development in 2016, the artwork is a sneaky way to tease the sequel.
The fact Ellie is pregnant could further allude to Dinah and Jesse’s baby in the game – or suggest that Naughty Dog intended for Ellie to have a baby in the sequel. Similarly, Nathan Drake’s Sic Parvis Magna ring can be found in a bank vault during Seattle Day One in The Last Of Us Part II.
Shortly after his demise via golf club, Ellie walks through Joel’s house, and if you know where to look, there’s a painting on a wall referencing Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Perhaps more sneaky Easter Eggs will be hidden The Last Of Us Part I, an official remake of the original game. Part I was recently confirmed to be in development for the PS5 and PC, with game creator Neil Druckmann describing it as “the definitive version of the first game that [isn’t] encumbered by any technology.”
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