The creator of Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima, has revealed that the upcoming movie adaptation will not be a blockbuster. The video game version of Death Stranding was released in 2019 and explored the aftermath of a global apocalypse on Earth. Centering around Sam Bridges, a courier who braves the waste to deliver goods between cities, the game showcases just how cruel the world has become in the wake of Armageddon.

After it was confirmed that Death Stranding would have a movie of its own, questions remained about whether the film would revolve around Sam Bridges or explore a story of its own. While Kojima has revealed that he isn't entirely sure if Sam will be involved, he has been open about one aspect of the film's development. In an interview with IGN, Kojima made it clear that he was attempting to produce an arthouse movie, not a blockbuster:


Everything We Know About Death Stranding Movie


While Hideo Kojima is busy with Death Stranding 2, it has been revealed that he will be a producer of the Death Stranding film. Since Death Stranding was only recently announced, much hasn't been revealed about what the movie will look like. The game had a subtle but star-studded cast, featuring The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus as Sam Bridges, Doctor Strange's Mads Mikkelsen as the villainous Clifford Unger, and No Time To Die's Léa Seydoux as Fragile, a young entrepreneur who helps Sam along his journey. If the film is anything like the game, it will feature a similarly incredible cast, which will undoubtedly help lend to the arthouse feel.

While the game is commonly critiqued as little more than a walking simulator, the recent Director's Cut of the game added social competition, exciting action missions, and other new gameplay improvements that made it more engaging. While Kojima has promised that there will not be many explosions, the social competition could remain for the movie. Death Stranding's multiplayer mode initially encouraged players to work together without any communication or any real purpose. A film could easily adopt that attitude and showcase new characters who exist and offer the protagonist support solely out of the kindness of their hearts, much like Fragile does.

If Sam Bridges does not appear in the film, it is possible that Death Stranding could instead focus on another courier with a somewhat less involved story, who may lend more nicely to an arthouse production than Sam, who is constantly getting into trouble. It could also focus on the immediate aftermath of the original apocalypse. If Sam isn't likely to appear, that could be a good reason why Kojima is looking to change the face of video game movies completely. Opting not to introduce the central protagonist to the series could be a clever way to do it.