A24’s Death Stranding Movie is Taking the Only Route That Makes Any Sense

In 2019, Death Stranding marked Hideo Kojima’s debut release with his then recently-formed studio after the legendary creator parted ways with Konami. As expected from one of gaming’s greatest designers, Death Stranding was a highly experimental title, containing all the hallmarks of Kojima’s patented vision. Though reactions were sometimes a little mixed, it was largely embraced by fans. The sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, released earlier this summer and was generally better received than the first, having smoothed out and improved some of the original’s rougher bumps while continuing with the next chapter.

On September 23, the “Beyond The Strand” presentation, a celebration of Kojima Productions’ 10-year anniversary, aired. The event showcased and teased what’s in store from the developer, revealing further details about a couple of previously announced and suspected projects. Among these, it provided some more information about what fans can expect from the upcoming Death Stranding movie. This will be a full-length live-action adaptation produced by A24. And based on what was shown about it, the direction it’s taking looks to springboard from and capitalize on the potential of the IP in the best possible way.

A24’s Death Stranding Film Adaptation Telling a New Story in the Universe is the Smartest Path It Could Follow

Death Stranding and DS2: On the Beach’s Stories Are Already Similar

Hideo Kojima is well-known for dreaming up engrossing and bizarre worlds populated by quirky and complex characters. Along with these, his yarns often touch on impactful thematic and emotional throughlines that are reflected in gameplay mechanics. This is true of Sam Porter Bridges’ journey in Death Stranding, as it was unquestionably a surreal, grueling, and enlightening one.

As he works to reconnect the fractured USA to the strange chiral network, Sam uncovers deep truths about himself and those he meets along the way while coming to terms with himself and his place. This was again the case in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, as Sam is recruited once more to do the same across Mexico and Australia. But given that the two titles cover some quite similar ground overall, it would’ve felt a bit repetitive if the movie attempted to recreate Sam’s adventures closely. Luckily, it seems it won’t be doing this, and is instead branching further out.

Why A24’s Death Stranding Film Being an All-New Tale is the Perfect Move

The movie version of Death Stranding was officially confirmed in 2023, with Kojima acting as a producer, and writer/director Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One) set to helm. Sarnoski gave his take on the approach for the film, stating:

With this project, we really want to capture the soul of the game, capture the themes of the game, but tell a story you haven’t seen in that world and explore characters you haven’t seen before.

This is a promising choice, as there are many parts of Death Stranding‘s setting still unexplored, and it is rich enough for a variety of interesting tales to be told in it while expanding its fascinating lore. Rather than retreading either of the games again, then, the movie aims to further the universe, implying that fans will get to experience entirely new aspects of it.

Kojima has long included many of his famous friends and collaborators, like filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, in his projects. It’s possible or even likely that the movie may contain references to or cameos by some existing characters. But the decision to make it mostly its own new tale can serve to broaden and enrich the world, and perhaps even answer (or introduce) more of Death Stranding‘s mysteries along the way. There is such great potential within its elaborate and fragile world that telling a fresh story for Death Stranding‘s live-action adaption seems the most savvy route it could take.

Writers

Hideo Kojima

Producers

Hideo Kojima, Allan Ungar

Franchise(s)

Death Stranding