• Former Naughty Dog artist Heather Cerlan revealed that the controversial death in The Last of Us Part 2 was divisive internally
• Cerlan says the studio was "split" on the decision
• The death was hugely controversial among fans back in 2020

A former Naughty Dog developer has revealed that the controversial death in The Last of Us Part 2 was also a divisive element within the studio.

If you've played The Last of Us sequel, you'll know that Joel Miller, the protagonist of the first game, is brutally killed by Abby Anderson in an act of revenge at the beginning of the story.

At the time of the game's release in 2020, Joel's death caused a huge uproar among fans, with many hating the decision. Others praised the bold move for subverting expectations and delivering one hell of an emotional journey for Ellie.

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Now, in a lengthy interview with Kiwi Talkz, Heather Cerlan, who worked as an artist on The Last of Us, The Last of Us Part 2, Uncharted 4, and The Lost Legacy, confirmed that the death was just as controversial at Naughty Dog as it was among fans.

"Oh yeah, most of the studio was like, 'really you're going to?...'", Cerlan said, before trailing off to avoid spoilers.

"I think the studio was pretty split on like, the outcome of what happens," she continued. "Yes, absolutely. It was controversial internally, too."

Joel's death also leaked ahead of the game's official release, which led to online abuse and death threats being sent to Abby's actress, Laura Bailey, and her new-born son.

Bailey later opened up about the abuse she received in Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part 2.

"Every time I went online, that's all I saw. Death threats and threats of violence, and the worst of it, the really hardcore death threats got past along and they [the police] made sure they weren’t anyone who lived close by," Bailey said at the time.

"They were threatening my son, who was born during all of it, and yeah, it was rough. But, you know, more than anything, it just kind of like taught me to keep a distance."

Naughty Dog is currently working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The star of the game, Tati Gabrielle, shared in an interview last year that she was aware of the hate The Last of Us: Part 2 cast members, like Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, and Troy Baker, received back in 2020, and that director Neil Druckmann had been preparing her for a similar situation.

"Neil's been bootcamp-ing me," Gabrielle said. "I know Troy's experience, I know Ashley's experience… I know Laura Bailey's experience.

"I got a lot of love, but there was a lot of hate over me being a woman, me being a woman of color, me having my head shaved, all these things that I didn't even actually initially see — I'm out of the social media zeitgeist for that reason — but once I did, Neil was like, 'Ignore it. No matter what, me and you, we're going to make something beautiful. We're going to make something that we're proud of.'"

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Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at TechRadar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as GameSpot, NME, and GamesRadar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.