The Death Stranding live-action adaptation still has no official release date, but that hasn’t stopped the game’s director, Hideo Kojima, from talking about his personal goals for the film. The adaptation will be co-produced by A24–a first for the company–and Kojima doesn’t just want another video game adaptation but an adaptation that pushes the boundaries and sets the tone for future films.
Kojima explains to Variety that there is a cinematic approach to his work but makes sure readers and his fans understand that he is a game creator at his core. Kojima then adds how he wants Death Stranding to stand out in a landscape full of incoming video game movies.
“I aim to present a new dimension of cinematic adaptation that goes beyond merely turning a game into a live-action movie,” he said. It’s a lofty goal, but not completely unattainable. Though he’s not directing the feature, Kojima will be in a supervisory role with the arthouse distributor.
This is in line with what he went into more detail about back in February on his HideoTube web series, saying it’s easier to adapt a show like The Last of Us, but taking something like Death Stranding with 50-60 hours of game and condensing it into three hours is a true challenge.
“The worldview won’t change, of course. But the story of the game as is won’t fit into just two hours. We’re still looking at how to approach it. In the past, film adaptations of video games always failed, you know. But in the last four to five years, people who understand games have taken on the task of adapting it into a film or drama,” he explained. “And several hits have been made, like The Super Mario Bros. Movie. And that’s the trend these days, but with A24, I want to make something that’s based on a game, but also indie and artistic, something that can win awards at film festivals like Cannes, Venice, or Sundance.”
The game’s sequel, Death Stranding: On The Beach, is scheduled to be released sometime in 2025.