Video game auteur Hideo Kojima has another new project on the way set in the world of his visionary game Death Stranding. Deadline reports that Kojima's company Kojima Productions and animation company Line Mileage will be teaming up to produce a new Death Stranding movie, which is separate from the previously announced live-action Death Stranding movie with A24.
A new Death Stranding animated film is cool enough news, but the thing that really caught my attention is who will be writing the screenplay: Aaron Guzikowski, the creator of HBO Max's mind-bending science fiction show Raised By Wolves.
Guzikowski has lain low since the cancellation of Raised By Wolves in 2022; I haven't seen his name pop up in any major industry news until now. But this is a hell of a way to come back, as well as an amazing pairing of unique talents who feel very well-suited for a collaboration.
“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,” said Guzikowski. "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."
The original Death Stranding game is set in a post-apocalyptic United States where humans need to re-establish communications across the map, relying on brave couriers to travel the vast, monster-infested wilderness between settlements. Norman Reedus played Sam Porter, the main courier who comes into contact with a strange cargo: a baby with remarkable powers. Kojima is currently working on a sequel, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach.
Deadline writes that this animated film 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." Kojima Productions and Line Mileage compare this movie to animated fare like the forthcoming John Wick prequel and Predator: Killer of Killers, the latest Predator movie from Prey director Dan Trachtenberg.
Line Mileage has some experienced animation vets in its ranks. It's run by partners Jacob Robinson (Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft), Daniel Dominguez (Seis Manos), and Brad Graeber (Castlevania). The studio focuses on adult animation.
“As an avid gamer I can say, unequivocally, Death Stranding is the most cinematic, thought-provoking video game I have ever played,” said Dominguez. “Playing it gave me the same emotional rush, visceral punch, and intellectual pleasure I had the first time I watched Blade Runner, or Ghost in the Shell. Adapting it into a form it so naturally evokes is an honor. And for Aaron Guzikowski to lend his talents, whose authorial mind and creative energy humble me… needless to say, this project is a dream come true.”
On paper, this is about as solid an announcement for a Death Stranding animated film as one could hope for. I'm really curious to see how this shapes up, and what Guzikowski brings to Kojima's ambitious post-apocalyptic world. And who knows...if this goes well, maybe Guzikowski can keep going in animation and finally give fans an end to Raised By Wolves after HBO Max unceremoniously pulled the plug after a slew of major cliffhangers. One can dream!
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