Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is not an easy game to recommend, or even describe, yet it’s become something of a blockbuster all the same. While its supernatural themes are heady and abstract, its premise follows the loose framing of what could be a big-screen hit — or at least that’s what Kojima is hoping as A24 adapts his pet project into a feature film.
In an interview with Vogue Japan, Kojima revealed his tentative plan for the future of the Death Stranding franchise. A sequel to the 2019 game is set for June, but the developer’s not ready to stop there. “What comes next are different forms of media — movies, anime, TV dramas, etc,” Kojima said. “Basically, expanding the game IP to other media. That’s the second phase. That’s what we’re aiming for next.”
While A Quiet Place: Day One director Michael Sarnoski tackles Death Stranding in live-action, Kojima is reportedly spearheading another adaptation on the animation front. “We are also currently working on an anime adaptation,” he told Vogue, teasing the next addition to a rapidly expanding franchise.
Kojima is gaming royalty, and Death Stranding, however inaccessible it can be, is the kind of prestige game suitable for an adaptation. As a game, it already boasts a cast of well-known actors, including Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Mads Mikkelsen. Reedus is Sam Porter Bridges, a deliveryman ferrying food and supplies across the fractured remnants of America. After the “Death Stranding,” an apocalyptic event that blurred the lines between the earthly plane and the afterlife, what’s left of humanity is holed up in fortified underground cities. Straying from the protection of a “knot” means risking annihilation from ghostly beings dubbed BTs (Beached Things). Oh, and then there’s the infected rain that instantly ages anything it touches.
The game gets even weirder from there, raising questions about how it could translate to live-action. Kojima revealed a bit of his plan to Vogue, citing recent adaptations like HBO’s The Last of Us and Universal’s Super Mario Bros. Movie as evidence of what he doesn’t want to do. “Each of these works has its own merits, but as a film lover, I want to pursue expression as a film,” Kojima said. “I am aiming to make Death Stranding in a way that can only be done as a film, and that will win awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.”
A looser adaptation is probably best for something like Death Stranding, but Kojima might be looking to eat his cake and have it too. The franchise will have a prestige live-action film that might court awards buzz, but its anime adaptation could skew closer to the true soul of the game. Time will tell, but with a sequel, a movie, and an anime on the way, fans of Death Stranding are about to be spoiled. And probably even more confused.
