Fans of Hideo Kojima, best known for the acclaimed and highly influential Metal Gear franchise, have some exciting news to look forward to. While Metal Gear remains Kojima’s most prominent creation to date, the innovative action-adventure game Death Stranding is a close contender. Three adaptations of the game are currently in development: a live-action film, an anime film, and an animated television series.
We now have a promising update on the live-action adaptation of Death Stranding, from its writer and director, Michael Sarnoski, known for the acclaimed drama Pig, starring Nicolas Cage, and the post-apocalyptic horror film A Quiet Place: Day One. For those unfamiliar with the live-action project, it was announced on December 15, 2022, and shortly afterward, A24 was confirmed as a co-producer, with Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen also joining as producers.
As revealed in a recent interview, the script for Death Stranding, slated for release in 2027, is nearing completion. According to the filmmaker, Kojima has been pleased with the adaptation and appears to approve of everything that has been developed so far.
“I’m writing the script right now and hopefully almost done with that and really excited to dive into it. I’ve been talking to Kojima and A24 a lot about it. They’ve read a draft. We’re working on some revisions together, and they all seem super excited and happy with it…It’s been a great process so far, and I’m really excited to share it. … I was impressed that when [Kojima] read this script, without me needing to talk to him about it, he knew every single [movie] reference.”
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Will Star in ‘Death Stranding’?
Death Stranding is set in the United States following the cataclysmic event of the same name, which unleashed destructive creatures upon the Earth. A major part of the game’s appeal is its star-studded cast, led by The Walking Dead‘sNorman Reedus as Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with delivering supplies to isolated colonies and reconnecting them through a wireless communications network. The game also features performances from Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Margaret Qualley, among other notable Hollywood stars.
Teasing the upcoming Death Stranding film adaptation, director Sarnoski revealed that he has the freedom to create his own characters while still working with those established in the game. He explained that it wasn’t difficult to find a character that “made sense in that world” and one he could “really dive into.” Sarnoski added that while several characters from the game may appear in the film, the adaptation will primarily aim to honor “what’s going on in the game” while also being “very much its own thing.”
Developed by Kojima Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Death Stranding was the first game released by Kojima and his studio, following their split from Konami in 2015. The title debuted on PlayStation 4 in November 2019 before receiving a Windows release in July 2020.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates about the Death Stranding live-action adaptation.
