“Death Stranding” game is fulfilling its destiny by becoming a movie

"We are creating a 'Death Stranding' universe," says legendary game maker Hideo Kojima.

Acclaimed game developer Hideo Kojima created Death Stranding almost as a new form of storytelling. It was a video game, but at the same time it was highly cinematic and even featured a starkly easier difficulty mode to give movie-lovers the sensation of watching a piece of film. Now Kojima is taking things a step further.

Death Stranding, which featured an all-star cast including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, and Léa Seydoux, is now officially being developed as a live-action film from celebrated indie studio A24. There's no word yet on whether some of the actors from the game, which also featured director Guillermo del Toro and Maid actress Margaret Qualley, will be making the jump to the film.

"There are a lot of 'game adaptation films' out there, but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game," Kojima said in a statement. "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.”

Death Stranding, released in 2019, starred Reedus as Sam Porter, a courier in a future United States that has been devastated by a cataclysmic event. In this reality, in which dangerous creatures roam the land and acid rain falls from the sky, it's Sam's job to deliver supplies to isolated colonies and reconnect them through a wireless network. A sequel game is also in the works.

Kojima previously spoke with EW about his intention to welcome film fans into the storytelling medium of games with his highly cinematic easy mode. "When I announced [Death Stranding], I got responses like, 'I'm a great movie fan and I saw your game, but I haven't been playing games,'" he said in a 2019 interview. "I wanted to set the bar really low and that's the very easy mode. All of these people that are movie fans, they say games nowadays are just so complicated they can't do it anymore… I want people to come back to playing games again. It's totally different than watching a movie. It's basically easy, but you have to control it. You're not just watching it."

With this movie adaptation, it's seems he's now doing the opposite: welcoming gamers into the movie space.

Earlier this month at the Game Awards ceremony, Kojima also announced he's working on a new horror gaming experience called OD that already feels like it has some movie-like qualities — and not just because acclaimed horror director Jordan Peele (Get Out, Us, Nope) is involved. The game features performances from Euphoria's Hunter Schafer and It star Sophia Lillis. An early description of the mysterious concept said it is "testing your fear threshold, and what it means to OD on fear – while blurring the boundaries of gaming and film."

“It is a game, don’t get me wrong, but it’s at the same time a movie, but the same time a new form of media,” Kojima said on the Game Awards stage. “I grew up watching movies, and I’m a game creator now. Jordan grew up playing games, and he’s a movie director now. So this collaboration will be really awesome.”

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