More details of the upcoming Death Stranding animated adaptation have been revealed by Kojima Productions and animation house Line Mileage, with Aaron Guzikowski (Raised by Wolves, Prisoners) confirmed as writer for the upcoming adult-targeted feature.
According to partners, the Death Stranding animated film will be in a similar vein to the recently-released Predator: Killer of Killers, and will feature an original story unfolding in the universe of Death Stranding, set in the wake of a series of cataclysmic explosions around the world which result in the dead and living becoming connected.
Released in 2019, Kojima's Death Stranding starred Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro, and Margaret Qualley, and is set in a post-apocalyptic United States. Players controlled Sam Porter Bridges (Reedus) as he traverses miles of frequently-barren landscape, avoiding BTs (invisible monsters who've crossed over into our world), delivering packages, and trying to build connections between the pockets of humanity that still survive. As of 2021, the game has sold 5 million copies worldwide. A sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, is set for release on July 26.
In a statement, Guzikowski had this to say of his upcoming dive into the Death Stranding universe:
“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 […] 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.”
Guzikowski's Death Stranding is separate from the live-action A24 adaptation of the game, which recently tapped A Quiet Place: Day One‘s Michael Sarnoski to direct. Look out for more on both movies as the updates roll in!
