Late last year came the news that celebrated gaming auteur Hideo Kojima and his Kojima Productions label were teaming with Hammerstone Studios (“Barbarian”) for a fast-tracked film adaptation of the former’s acclaimed 2019 video game “Death Stranding”.
At the last report, the project will be set within the same universe as the game but introduce new elements and characters rather than focusing on the existing ones with no writer or director in sight.
Then last month, Kojima reassured fans on social media he is “deeply involved” in all aspects of the film but is not directing. Though the ongoing strikes have halted most productions, pre-production on some titles, including ‘Stranding’, is still taking place.
Speaking with Screen Rant, producer Allan Ungar was asked about the status of the film right now and he confirms work is continuing with some “very exciting news” to come shortly:
“This is an incredibly, incredibly important undertaking for [Kojima]. This is his baby, this is the first time that he went out on his own as an independent studio, and made a game, and that game became critically acclaimed, it became very prolific.
Unfortunately, due to the strike, and due to sort of everything that’s happening in our industry right now, I can’t say as much as I’d like to, other than there’s going to be some very exciting news coming up soon, and we’re incredibly excited about the direction that we’re taking it in.
I think it’s going to be an incredible surprise, not just for video game fans, but for moviegoing fans and audiences in general, who I don’t think have seen anything quite like this before. [Kojima is involved] every step of the way”
The game unfolds in a post-apocalyptic United States, where the eponymous mysterious event triggered a mass extinction and the collapse of society. Said event caused the boundary between the world of the living and the dead to become blurred.
Norman Reedus stars as Sam Porter Bridges who works as a courier who must traverse the dangerous and desolate landscapes, connecting isolated survivors and communities. Actors like Lea Seydoux, Mads Mikkelsen, Margaret Qualley, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Lindsay Wagner starred, along with cameos by filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn.
“Death Stranding” is currently available for PS5, PS4 and PC.
