Kojima Wants Death Stranding Movie to Be a Masterpiece
Death Stranding director Hideo Kojima has shared his ambitious goals for the game’s upcoming cinematic adaptation. Kojima wants the film to not just be a run-of-the-mill adaptation, but to set a benchmark for future video game movies.
Death Stranding Movie Should Be an Award-Worthy, According to Kojima
Kojima emphasized in an interview with Variety that while his work has a cinematic approach, he is still a game creator at heart. He then explained how he wants Death Stranding to stand out among the upcoming video game movies.
“I aim to offer a new dimension of cinematic adaptation that goes beyond just turning the game into a live-action movie,” Kojima said. It’s an ambitious goal, but not impossible. Although he won’t be directing the film, Kojima will be acting in a consulting role with arthouse film distributor A24.
Kojima elaborated on the subject in a HideoTube web series back in February. He noted that while adapting a series like The Last of Us is relatively easy, condensing a 50-60 hour game like Death Stranding into a three-hour movie is a real challenge.
“The worldview of the game will not change, of course. But the current story of the game can’t fit into just two hours. We’re still exploring how to approach that,” Kojima explained. “In the past, video game adaptations have always failed, you know. But in the last four or five years, people who understand games have taken on the task of adapting them into movies or series, and there have been a few hits like The Super Mario Bros. Movie. With A24, I want to do something that is based on games but is also independent and artistic, something that could win awards at film festivals like Cannes, Venice or Sundance.”
The game’s sequel, Death Stranding: On The Beach, is scheduled for release sometime in 2025. Kojima’s vision and A24’s independent and artistic approach combined make it seem like Death Stranding could really be a pioneer in the game adaptation genre.
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