The Biggest Sci-Fi Thriller Game Ever Becoming Movie From A24

The announcement comes right before Hideo Kojima’s production company, Kojima Productions, celebrates its eighth anniversary on December 16.  “The film promises to delve into the mysteries surrounding the apocalyptic event called the ‘Death Stranding,’ which blurred the lines between life and death, and brought forth nightmarish creatures into a world on the brink of collapse.” reads a joint synopsis from A24 and Kojima Productions.

Kojima’s decision to partner with A24 for the Death Stranding movie stems from the creator’s feeling of kinship with the studio. “Their innovative approach to storytelling aligns with what Kojima Productions has been doing for the last 8 years,” Kojima said in a recent statement. Kojima went on to describe A24 as a singular presence within the film industry and said that the movies A24 produces are “hight in quality and very innovative.

If it feels like Death Stranding is an attempt by A24 to cash in on the current video game adaptation craze, Hideo Kojima wants to assure you that it’s not. “There are a lot of game adaptation films out there,” said Kojima, “but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game.” The creator went on to say that Death Stranding won’t be directed just at fans of the video game but “anyone who loves cinema.”

Kojima claims that he and A24 will be creating a “Death Stranding universe” that doesn’t exist in the game and can only be realized “through the medium of film.”

Death Stranding the game features a courier by the name of Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus) who has the unenviable task of trying to deliver resources to the colonies that sprung up across the United States following an apocalypse that spawned monsters everywhere. Along the way, Bridges picks up an unborn fetus in a jar that he must carry around for…reasons.Along with Reedus, the game also features the voice talents and likenesses of Mads Mikkelsen, Lea Seydoux, and Margaret Qualley. No word yet on whether the same actors would be cast for the Death Stranding movie, but given that it’s one of the few games to feature actual Hollywood actors, it would be weird if A24 didn’t at least ask the original cast to come back for the movie.

With superheroes facing a decline at the box office, expect more and more studios to turn to video games for new movie ideas. Rivals Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario have both successfully made the leap from cartridges to film. The Super Mario Bros. movie, in particular, was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2023, grossing a whopping $ 1.36 billion worldwide.

With those numbers, don’t expect Death Stranding to be the last video game adaptation you read about anytime soon.