A24 to Adapt Hideo Kojima’s Acclaimed PS4 Game ‘Death Stranding’ into Live-Action Feature Film

Samantha Bergeson and Ryan Lattanzio
·3 min read
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Indie studio A24 is moving into the video game adaptation space, as Hideo Kojima’s “Death Stranding” will soon be on the big screen. A24 announced on Thursday that the game is now in development to become a live-action feature film.

“Death Stranding” the game stars Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro, Elle Fanning, Shioli Kutsuna, and Margaret Qualley, with Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn in supporting roles. The game debuted in 2019 on PlayStation 4 and has players take on the character of Sam Porter, who is tasked with “reuniting a splintered America” per the official logline. The game was played by over 16 million Porters across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. (A sequel is on the way for 2025.)

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A24 is collaborating with Kojima Productions, now celebrating its eighth anniversary, to adapt the video game into a live-action feature film. The upcoming film will move beyond the gameplay and dive into the mysteries behind an apocalyptic event that blurred the lines between life and death, and brought forth nightmarish creatures into a world on the brink of collapse.

“A24 was born into this world about 10 years ago, their presence is singular within the industry, they are like no other,” Kojima said. “The films they are delivering to the world are high in quality and very innovative. I have been attracted to their creations and they have even inspired my own work. Their innovative approach to storytelling aligns with what Kojima Productions has been doing for the last 8 years. Now, we are making a ‘Death Stranding’ movie together. There are a lot of ‘game adaptation films’ out there but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game. The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema. We are creating a ‘Death Stranding’ universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.”

No casting has been announced yet, although Kojima was recently seen meeting with Timothée Chalamet in Japan. The video game creator shared a teaser for the upcoming Xbox game “OD,” starring Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer, and Udo Kier. The “Metal Gear Solid 2” creator partnered with Jordan Peele on the game.

While he’s considered to be an auteur of video games, Kojima tweeted that he will not be directing any film adaptation of his games. “Just to be clear, I am deeply involved in producing, supervising, plotting, look, design and content of the film adaptation of DS, just not in charge of directing,” Kojima wrote earlier this year after the “Death Stranding” movie was first reported in December 2022. The initial announcement had “Barbarian” executive producer Alex Lebovici’s Hammerstone Studios developing the adaptation; A24 now is behind the film.

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