Hideo Kojima Turned Down A24's Offer To Direct The Death Stranding Movie
A24 is getting ready to bring Death Stranding to the big screen, but the studio first tried to convince Hideo Kojima to take the director's chair himself.
Here is a little inside baseball for your day: A24 tried to hand the live-action Death Stranding movie to Hideo Kojima himself. He passed.
According to The New Yorker, A24 head of film Noah Sacco asked Kojima point-blank if he wanted to direct their Death Stranding adaptation.
'Are you sure you don't want to direct?'
Kojima said no. Not because he hates the idea of a movie, but because he only ever saw Death Stranding as a video game. He has said before (to Variety) that he appreciates when people call the game cinematic, but he is not trying to make a 1:1 film himself. His stance now is the same as it was then: he will be involved, but not behind the camera.
'I'll supervise the plot and help them make it, but I won't direct it. I can't right now with three ongoing projects!'
So who is directing?
Michael Sarnoski is writing and directing. Yes, the Michael Sarnoski who just delivered A Quiet Place: Day One, which was both a critical and commercial hit. The film is a joint venture between A24 and Kojima Productions.
What kind of adaptation is this?
This is not a straight port of the story you played. When the project was announced in 2023, Kojima said the film is not a direct translation of the game and is meant to play for anyone who loves cinema, not just people who can recite BB lore in their sleep. That tracks with him staying hands-on with the story while letting a filmmaker make, you know, a film.
About that cast you're wondering about
The game starred Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, and even featured filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn.
No casting announcements yet for the movie. Reedus has made it clear he is interested, but nothing official.
No release date yet either. File this under 'actively cooking, not ready to serve.'