In addition to the live action movie, an animated feature based on Death Stranding is in development from creator Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions and animation/post-production house Line Mileage.
Prisoners writer and “Raised by Wolves” creator Aaron Guzikowski has signed to write the screenplay, which is said to in a similar vein to adult-targeted, animated genre films like Predator: Killer of Killers and the upcoming John Wick prequel.
The film will feature an original story unfolding in the universe of the hit action-adventure video game, set in the wake of a series of cataclysmic explosions around the world which result in the dead and living becoming connected.
“I love the world of Death Stranding, it’s so creatively freeing, so beautifully dark and yet hopeful; I’m so excited and honored that Hideo Kojima, whose work I’ve long admired, has invited me to dwell within his creation, to birth new stories into this fertile, mind-bending universe,” said Guzikowski. “Drawing and animation have always been near and dear to my heart, so to finally get to play in this space is a dream come true.”
“As an avid gamer I can say, unequivocally, Death Stranding is the most cinematic, thought-provoking video game I have ever played,” added Line Mileage CCO Daniel Dominguez. “Playing it gave me the same emotional rush, visceral punch, and intellectual pleasure I had the first time I watched Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell. Adapting it into a form it so naturally evokes is an honor. And for Aaron Guzikowski to lend his talents, whose authorial mind and creative energy humble me… needless to say, this project is a dream come true.”
Directed by Kojima and featuring performances by Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Guillermo del Toro, Death Stranding launched on PlayStation 4 in 2019. Its long-awaited sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, releases on June 26.
Kojima Productions is also developing a live action Death Stranding film with A24, to be written and directed Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One, Pig).
