The Last of Us showrunner says "so much" has happened in the five-year gap since we last saw Joel and Ellie: "That's part of the mystery of the season"

The Last of Us creator and showrunner Neil Druckmann teases the "mystery" of season 2 - all while praising star Bella Ramsey.

"I mean Bella is such an incredible actor that not only are they older, but they've also experienced so much trauma in season one," Druckmann tells GamesRadar+ when asked about Bella Ramsey's portrayal of a 19-year-old Ellie in season 2. "And so much things have happened in that five-year gap that that's part of the mystery of the season - what happened in those five years. When you're watching Bella perform, you could just see this maturity behind their eyes. That is, it seems very simple and it's very difficult to pull off and very few actors can pull up the way that they have."

The Last of Us season 2 takes place five years after the rather tragic events of season 2, and follows a young adult Ellie (Ramsey) as she comes into her own - though we don't know if she's aware of what Joel did in The Last of Us season 1 finale. We won't spoil it if you aren't caught up, but it was a pretty unforgivable decision - and we can only imagine the strain it would have on Joel and Ellie's relationship.