Hideo Kojima initially had other ideas for Death Stranding 2's peculiar mannequin Charlie, including making them an invisible man, glowing silhouette, or "a 2D anime-style figure"

Charlie in Death Stranding 2 .

Hideo Kojima has revealed various ideas he had for the character of Charlie in Death Stranding 2 before settling on the mannequin we know today.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has a number of peculiar faces, but none are more than Charlie, who is immediately set up to be a mysterious benefactor whose true identity is unknown. And to keep this identity a secret, they talk to the Drawbridge team through a mannequin with the synthesized voice of a former ally. It's a somewhat daft character who ends up being a highlight in a game full of interesting characters, with the big reveal of Charlie's identity arguably being the best moment in the game.

Hideo Kojima chatted a bit more about Charlie in a thread on Twitter, saying "While he has a somewhat inorganic feel, I still wanted to give him emotional depth as a character." Which led to another iconic aspect of the character, as Kojima adds, "I asked for a 'manpu' — the visual symbols developed in Japanese manga — to be incorporated. Visuals like sweat drops or stress marks that express a character’s feelings."

At first, I was thinking of making the character a 2D anime-style figure.But I was worried about whether that would go well with the other 3D characters, although this approach did work with Pekora. You can’t really tell how they’ll look side-by-side until the other characters… https://t.co/q7vrq9xzMoAugust 10, 2025

Kojima then explained how he landed on the mannequin as the character's stand-in, saying, "At first, I was thinking of making the character a 2D anime-style figure. But I was worried about whether that would go well with the other 3D characters." And while the 2D anime look worked for Pekora's cameo in the game, Charlie is seen in scenes with other characters, which Kojima notes, "You can’t really tell how they’ll look side-by-side until the other characters are pretty far along in development."

Although an anime style or mannequin weren't the only options, as Kojima revealed, "I also considered things like an invisible man, or a silhouette glowing with just light, but eventually decided to go with a mannequin."

Hideo Kojima is currently "checking the data" on your favorite Death Stranding 2 routes and weapons, and I hope he's personally counting every road I've restored without help from the ceramics-hording jerks I've been paired with.