Younger gamers may struggle to appreciate the importance of LucasArts and its influence on early gaming culture. Famed for its beautifully crafted, challenging and often exceedingly funny titles, from Day of the Tentacle to Grim Fandango, the studio had a profound effect on the gaming landscape of the '90s and early '00s. Its crowning achievement, the revered Monkey Island series, typified all that was great about these hilarious, yet challenging, point-and-click adventures. The fact that the franchise is still spoken of with reverence 30 years after the first game's release indicates the profound legacy the series still boasts today.

Announced via a trailer posted on Lucasfilm Games' Twitter, the next installment in the acclaimed Monkey Island series will be co-penned by Ron Gilbert, the original writer of the first two games. Gilbert's Terrible Toybox will team up with Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games, with Return to Monkey Island following on from the events of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge. Better still, the trailer has revealed the likely return of some of the series' best-loved characters, and if ghostly pirates playing the violin are anything to go by, possibly the infamous ghost-pirate antagonist, LeChuck. The teaser may be short and sweet, but it certainly hints at a lot of the aspects fans of the original series will be desperate to see reappear when they make the return voyage to the fabled island.

RELATED: Why Dungeons & Dragons Players Will Love Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

Guybrush Threepwood surrounded by strange technology in Monkey Island

Chief among fan favorites is, of course, Guybrush Threepwood himself, once again voiced by actor Dominic Armato. Guybrush was very much the heart and soul of the original series, an effortlessly likable protagonist, but a pretty inept pirate who somehow always managed to save the day, win the girl and defeat his nemesis, LeChuck, in the process. Famous Guybrush-isms, such as "Why, that's the second biggest monkey head I’ve ever seen!" have gone down in gaming legend. Fans will be anticipating the return of many of the other series favorites, such as the legendary Voodoo Lady who appears in practically every Monkey Island title as a guide to Guybrush and a useful purveyor of narrative exposition.

Making a more surprising return is Murray, the demonic talking skull and former crew member from LeChuck's undead pirate army, who serves as a minor, but uproarious character in the third game in the series, The Curse of Monkey Island. While fans will be pleased to see one of the series' funniest personalities reappearing, it does raise the question of exactly how Return to Monkey Island fits within the franchise narrative as a whole. If Murray is present, it would imply that his creator, LeChuck, is likely not far behind.

This also implies that the series' timeline has gone slightly awry. According to numerous sources, including Gilbert himself, Return is to be set after the second game, LeChuck's Revenge, even though it would follow that Murray would not have yet made an appearance, as he only debuts in the third title. If that's true, it's worth considering whether other characters and events, such as Guybrush's eventual marriage to his sweetheart, Governor Marley, will still be present in the upcoming sequel. Does Return nestle between the events of the second and third game, or else forge its own alternative narrative that borrows some elements of the timeline while disregarding others?

RELATED: Weird West Offers an Immersive Experience Where Player Choice Reigns Supreme

It does seem that Return to Monkey Island will likely follow on as a direct sequel to the events of LeChuck's Revenge, in which Guybrush accidentally resurrects, and once again defeats, the evil zombie pirate LeChuck using the forces of voodoo. Curse of Monkey Island, however, acts in itself as a sequel to the events of LeChuck's Revenge, having Guybrush track down and marry his errant love interest, Marley. Return to Monkey Island could fill in the narrative gap between the second and third game, or else take events in a brand-new direction that ultimately disregards the events of Curse of Monkey Island.

Whatever the case, fans will be eagerly anticipating the return of those characters who have left an indelible imprint on their formative gaming lives. With remastered versions of both classic titles debuting a few years ago, the appetite for more pirate adventures has never truly diminished, and while it may be hard to believe for members of a generation used to AAA photorealism, the warmth and charm of the best LucasArts titles is near-impossible to replicate. The thought of a new set of puzzles to solve, characters to meet or reacquaint with, not to mention the gorgeous music and sound design of the original games, has many elated at the thought of a return to the infamous Monkey Island.

KEEP READING: What Fans Want to See in The Expanse: A Telltale Series