On Thursday, Tokyo-based game studio Kojima Productions and U.S. animation studio Line Mileage announced they’re working together on an animated Death Stranding adaptation. News of the joint venture comes just days before the release of the game’s sequel.
Aaron Guzikowski, creator of HBO Max’s Raised by Wolves and writer of Denis Villeneuve’s 2013 thriller Prisoners, is set to write the screenplay. According to Deadline, the project is already in development. Rather than building upon existing stories, however, the upcoming adaptation will tell a unique tale of its own.
“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,” Guzikowski told Deadline in an interview. “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.”
Death Stranding, game designer Hideo Kojima’s 2019 post-apocalyptic action-adventure title, follows Sam Bridges (portrayed by The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus) as he lugs cargo about a desolate, dismal United States wherein the living and deceased connect.
The surreal, star-studded title also features performances from Casino Royale‘s Mads Mikkelsen, The Substance‘s Margaret Qualley, and even late-night comedian Conan O’Brien. After its release, the cerebral “walking simulator” quickly achieved cult status.
This is the second Kojima-inspired adaptation to make headlines in recent months. In April, director Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One) was tapped to write and direct a live-action Death Stranding flick for independent studio A24. The media company confirmed the movie in December 2023 after it dropped Death Stranding-branded graphic tees on its online storefront.
The game franchise’s second entry, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, is set to hit PlayStation 5 on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
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2 responses to “Animated ‘Death Stranding’ adaptation in development”
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