The Last of Us 2left most of the characters from the original game in shambles. If Naughty Dog wants to keep using this character, there a few ways that it could achieve this, potentially appeasing fans that were sorry to see him go. Although no one is expecting the character to be revived in any way, it's still possible that he could play a role in a potential The Last of Us 3. For this reason, his early death in The Last of Us 2 was all the more shocking. As the main character and protagonist of the original The Last of Us, Joel is both an important and beloved character to the franchise.