A Death Stranding anime is in the works, Hideo Kojima confirms
It was already announced that a live-action adaptation is also on the way
Hideo Kojima has confirmed that an anime based on Death Stranding is currently in production.
In an interview with Vogue Japan, Kojima discussed his vision for the Death Stranding series and how he feels the boundaries between movies and games in general will disappear in the future.
While discussing the upcoming live-action Death Stranding movie, Kojima said he wanted to make a version of the Death Stranding story that’s only possible in cinema, and that it should be accomplished enough to win respected film awards, before briefly revealing that an anime is also being worked on as a separate project.
“I am currently working with A24 on a live-action film adaptation of Death Stranding,” Kojima said (via machine translation). “When it comes to adapting games into visual media, there are works like The Last of Us, which stays true to the original storyline, and films like The Super Mario Bros Movie which are more of a service to fans of the game.
“While these works have their own merits, as a film enthusiast, I want to pursue the expressive potential of cinema. I aim to create a Death Stranding that can only be realised through film, one that could win awards at festivals like the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival. In fact, we are also currently working on an anime adaptation.”
Kojima had previously mentioned anime as a potential future medium for Death Stranding in an interview with Variety last year, but this appears to be the first official confirmation that an anime adaptation is now in the works.
“To strengthen our IP, we’re doing a sequel, and this is a game,” he told the publication in September 2024. “And we’ll continue to add more to various platforms. What comes next are different forms of media – movies, anime, TV dramas, etc. Basically, expanding the game IP to other media. That’s the second phase. That’s what we’re aiming for next.”
Further reading
Last month it was confirmed that A24’s live-action Death Stranding movie will be written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, who previously directed A Quiet Place: Day One.
Last year Kojima told Famitsu that he chose to work with A24 – the film distribution and production company behind movies like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Talk to Me, Uncut Gems, Midsommar, Lady Bird and Moonlight – because he didn’t want to make an expensive blockbuster action movie.
