Hideo Kojima says his DEATH STRANDING film will take a ‘different direction that no one has ever gone before’

Hideo Kojima is developing a film adaptation of his popular sci-fi video game Stranding of death. Kojima Productions has partnered with Alex Lebovic’at Hammerstone Studios (Barbarian) to develop and produce the film.

It was initially revealed that the plan is to expand the universe by introducing new elements and characters to the film. Kojima is now offering some additional insights into how the film project initially formed and his vision for it by saying that he has no plans to make a blockbuster-sized film. He said:

“I’ve been on video calls with many people in Hollywood every week since last year, and not just for Death Stranding. I got a lot of offers, but my intention from the start was never to make a blockbuster movie. Alex Lebovici from Hammerstone Studios shared my take on it. There were many proposals to make a large-scale film with famous actors and flashy explosions, but what would the explosions in Death Stranding be for? Making money isn’t even something I focus on. I aim for a more art-house approach, and the only person who has offered to make a film like that was Alex Lebovici, which makes me think he’s a rather unusual guy.”

He went on to say that the film most likely won’t have much in common with the story we’ve seen in the game. When asked if he had made any decisions about whether characters from the game, like Sam, appear in the film, he said they “have not decided yet.” He then talked about the failures of other video game films and how this adaptation of Death Stranding will take a “direction that no one has ever gone before” with a video game film.

“The failure of film adaptations of games a while back has led to a lot of movies that cater to gamers, right? That’s why they kind of look like a game. I don’t want the Death Stranding movie to be like that. Rather, I’m taking the approach of changing and evolving the world of Death Stranding in a way that fits well with the film. I made Death Stranding a game, and games are games. There’s really no need to turn them into films. So, in a way, the Death Stranding movie is taking a direction that no one has gone before with a film adaptation of a game. I think what I need is something that inspires some of the people who watch it to be creators in 10 or 20 years time.”

Stranding of death it’s still in the very early stages of development, but reading these comments from Kojima has me definitely excited to see what he and his creative team have to offer!

The original game “challenges players to reconnect a fractured society after the cataclysmic ‘Death Stranding’ event. This opened a doorway between the living and the dead, leading to afterlife creatures roaming the fallen world ruined by a desolate society. Holding the disconnected remnants of humanity’s future in his hands, players embody Sam Bridges as he embarks on a mission to bring hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America.

The game is the protagonist Norman Redus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toroand Margaret Qualley.

What do you think of what Kojima is trying to do with the film adaptation!?