We finally have an update on the upcoming video game movie adaptation of Death Stranding, and it’s honestly something I didn’t expect. Director Michael Sarnoski explained that the story will be original, but feature elements and characters from the games.
It seems rather than condensing Hideo Kojima’s complex original story into a feature-length movie, Sarnoski revealed to IGN Live he’s hoping to tell a new story in the Death Stranding universe that isn’t just a retread of Sam’s story. Which is pretty shocking, to say the least. He explained the situation below, saying:
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. Kojima has been really generous in letting me play in his world but letting me tell a story with my own characters and my own sort of corner of this world, but keeping it honest to the game and doing something that fans will really like. So it’s been a great process so far, and I’m really excited to share it.
Hideo Kojima is in the loop on the story and helping make revisions. That’s all I need to hear to trust Sarnoski is on the right path and not trying to approach this story as something wholly different than what it is.
While I am surprised that the Death Stranding movie won’t primarily stick with its all-star cast, led by actor Norman Reedus, it also makes sense. It can take an estimated forty hours minimum to beat the original story of Death Stranding, so maybe it was never a realistic option to believe a feature would even attempt to retell the events of the first game as Kojima had. The director explained why doing an original story was something he preferred, and the value in pursuing that path:
I get to play in this sandbox, but I can have my own characters; I can explore something that’s meaningful to me. I think there are such fundamental themes in Death Stranding about connection and expression, and all of this stuff, that it was easy for me to find a character that made sense in that world that I could really dive into.
Michael Sarnoski is taking a page out of the book of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil, which will also tell an original story in the video game universe it’s based on. If the trailer for Death Stranding ends up half as entertaining as the recent one we saw for that upcoming Horror movie, it’ll be a blast.
Of course, in terms of content, Death Stranding couldn’t be more different than Resident Evil. I would also say that this game franchise needs a story that simplifies a very complex storyline that, based on experience playing the game, needs a way to bring a casual viewer up to speed as soon as possible.
Which makes it all the more important that creator Hideo Kojima is on board as a collaborator. He’s celebrated as one of the best storytellers of video games, but needs someone like Sarnoski, who previously directed A Quiet Place: Day One, Pig, and The Death of Robin Hood, to translate that to a movie. I can’t wait to see it happen, though the task itself feels so immense I do wonder if this will just be a mythical project that gets worked on for several years and never quite makes it to release.
We’ll see how the Death Stranding movie shapes up, but it seems like we’re going to be waiting a while until it starts filming, let alone get to theaters. Fortunately, there’s plenty of great upcoming 2026 movies on the way, and hopefully, even more beyond that.