This week’s Beyond the Strand presentation debuted a first look at the Death Stranding anime set in Hideo Kojima’s world of mass extinction events and lethal rainfall. Currently in production under the working title of Death Stranding: Mosquito, the teaser trailer for the movie showed off a brutal brawl and highly stylized animation.
In typical Death Stranding fashion, the trailer raised more questions than answers as it suggested that the two individuals–one of whom is dressed in the same gear worn by game protagonist Sam Porter Bridges–are Repatriates. Functionally immortal, Repatriates can survive death after they reconnect their soul to their human body through the purgatory-like realm of the Seam.
Beyond that, it appears that the film draws considerable inspiration from the games. The fight unfolds during a bout of Timefall, and one of the characters is wearing a mask with a mosquito-like proboscis that appears to be made from the tar-like substance that Beached Things are coated in. There’s also a BT dog of sorts, with hands for a face. Yup, this is definitely a Death Stranding project.
What we do know about this project is that it’s being directed by Hiroshi Miyamoto at ABC Animation Studio, off of a script by Aaron Guzikowski (Raised by Wolves).
The Death Stranding live-action film was also briefly spoken about during the presentation. Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One) will be directing the movie, and it will tell an original story with its cast of new characters. Sarnoski explained that he aims to “capture the soul” of the games for the film, exploring the world of Death Stranding on a “micro and macro” scale.
