“Pig” filmmaker Michael Sarnoski has just found his next big project: adapting Hideo Kojima’s “Death Stranding” for the big screen.
The star-studded PlayStation game “Death Stranding” has long captured big names: Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro, Elle Fanning, Shioli Kutsuna, Margaret Qualley, Guillermo del Toro, and Nicolas Winding Refn have all lent their likenesses and voices to the popular video game. While there is no news yet if any of the actors will reprise their respective roles for the live-action film version, Sarnoski no doubt will assemble a buzzy cast.
Deadline first reported that Sarnoski will write and direct the adaptation for A24, with game creator Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions producing. IndieWire has confirmed the news with A24.
The logline for the film teases that the “mysteries surrounding the ‘Death Stranding’ — a catastrophic series of events that blurred the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead, bringing forth nightmarish creatures into a fragmented world on the brink of collapse,” will be uncovered. The film will move beyond the gameplay and into the history of the plot.
The game debuted in 2019 on PlayStation 4 and allows players to take on the character of Sam Porter, who is tasked with “reuniting a splintered America,” per the official description. The game was played by over 16 million Porters across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. A sequel titled “Death Stranding 2: On the Beach” will be released on June 26.
The film adaptation of the first “Death Stranding” was announced in 2023 at A24. While he’s considered to be an auteur of video games, Kojima tweeted that he will not be directing any film adaptation of his games. “Just to be clear, I am deeply involved in producing, supervising, plotting, look, design and content of the film adaptation of DS, just not in charge of directing,” Kojima wrote after the “Death Stranding” movie was first reported in December 2022. The initial announcement had “Barbarian” executive producer Alex Lebovici’s Hammerstone Studios developing the adaptation; A24 now is behind the film.
Kojima said in 2023 that A24 has a “singular presence within the industry, [and] they are like no other.” He added, “The films they are delivering to the world are high in quality and very innovative. I have been attracted to their creations and they have even inspired my own work. Their innovative approach to storytelling aligns with what Kojima Productions has been doing for the last 8 years. Now, we are making a ‘Death Stranding’ movie together. There are a lot of ‘game adaptation films’ out there but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game. The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema. We are creating a ‘Death Stranding’ universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.”
Sarnoski previously directed “A Quiet Place: Day One” and the upcoming A24 feature “Death of Robin Hood” starring Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer. Sarnoski told IndieWire in 2024 when asked if he would direct another “Quiet Place” that he was planning on making an original film next.
“I’m definitely going to do something original next, [but] one of the great things about the ‘Quiet Place’ universe is that you have this sort of fundamental creature, and beyond that, you can explore any human story you want to in that world,” Sarnoski said. “I would definitely be open to that if I found that kind of in again, but you can tell a thousand different stories in this world because it’s just about the characters. But I’m going to do something a little different next.”
