We are inching ever closer to the Death Stranding movie adaptation, with it reportedly set to begin filming next year.
After being announced in 2022, the film is to be produced by Kojima Productions in partnership with Hammerstone Studios and A24 and will adapt the hit 2019 game.
And after a lengthy pre-production period, director Michael Sarnoski (A Quiet Place: Day One, Pig) has told Variety that he hopes to begin filming next year in Iceland and Northern Ireland, having recently submitted a second draft of the script.
He also reiterated that, while the film will focus on his own original story and characters in the Death Stranding world, there will nonetheless be some familiar faces for fans of the games.
“I want it to feel big, but also offbeat and character driven. This takes place in the world of the video game, but I have my own set of characters.
“There are some like overlapping characters that fans will be excited to see, but it’s very much my own story within this universe.”
It remains unknown where and when this story will take place in relation to the games, nor if those returning characters will be played by their original actors.
While we could certainly see characters like Fragile, Deadman and Clifford Unger make appearances, we would perhaps be more surprised to see Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro and Mads Mikkelsen reprise those roles for the project.
In a previous interview, Sarnowski spoke about his experience working with Hideo Kojima on the script, remarking that he and A24 “seem super excited and happy with it,” and that he was pleased to have been given the freedom to tell his own story.
“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.”
Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.