Hideo Kojima on Death Stranding and the Possibility of Making Movies

Hideo Kojima has many titles in my book: Legend. Icon. Genius. The list goes on. One that is not completely subjective, however, is “film buff”. Kojima talks about movies frequently on Twitter, and many of you are aware that he is good friends with big-name directors like Guillermo del Toro (I am still not over the cancellation of Silent Hills, by the way). With such a strong passion for movies, it’s not unusual to wonder if the Metal Gear creator and writer would ever make a film himself.

Kojima addressed this at the Tribeca Games Festival in April saying, “I love movies, so definitely one day, I would love to. But right now, it’s impossible. At least until I finish Death Stranding, it’s impossible.” We can at least hold onto a strand of hope. Kojima also addressed his cinematic influences at the Festival, among which were classic films like Taxi Driver, Rollerball, and The Deer Hunter, the last of which Kojima used Robert De Niro’s character to draw inspiration for Solid Snake.  

You only have to play one Metal Gear game (though you should definitely play all of them) to know that they are cinematic experiences in their own right. With an in-depth story line of espionage and politics woven throughout the series, and with the addition of cutscenes that have lasted up to nearly thirty minutes, Metal Gear is one of the most complex stories in gaming, and is more than enough evidence that Kojima could and should branch into writing movie scripts once Death Stranding is complete.

Following Hideo Kojima’s tumultuous departure from Konami after the release of Metal Gear V: The Phantom Pain, he opened his own independent studio, Kojima Productions. Death Stranding is the first game that will come out of the studio, and the project is still in the early stages of development and little is known about it. Just from seeing naked Norman Reedus (AMC’s The Walking Dead) holding a baby, however, that’s enough to tell us a wild story lies ahead. The upcoming title also stars Mads Mikkelsen (NBC’s Hannibal) in what appears to be a villainous role that we can’t wait to learn more about. 

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When Kojima was asked at the Tribeca Games Festival why he enjoyed working with actors in his games, his reply was simple: “by bringing in actors, they do some things that I don’t imagine,” he said. “That alone makes the world bigger.” With Kojima’s imagination and dedication to storytelling in games, it would be great to see how, or even if, that translates to film one day.

Let us know what you think in the comments: is a Hideo Kojima movie inevitable?

Tori Morrow

Tori is a writer and gamer originally from Vault 111, but now she resides in Chicago. She has an MFA in creative writing-fiction, runs primarily on coffee, and is an expert on AMC’s The Walking Dead. Follow her on Twitter @torithatnerd.