Director Michael Sarnoski reveals new story details for the Death Stranding movie and confirms production starts in 2027 with filming across Iceland
Video game fans have been waiting years for a film based on the Metal Gear series, but a film adaptation of another one of Hideo Kojima’s big IPs is going through the gears at a furious pace. Director Michael Sarnoski, who recently brought us the acclaimed Pig and the upcoming A Quiet Place Day One, recently sat down with Variety to chat about his future projects. While the focus of the discussion was on his drama The Death of Robin Hood, the director offered some very insightful details about how he’s going to bring the supernatural setting of Death Stranding to the big screen.
According to Sarnoski, he is hoping to keep the immense scale of the video game while focusing on the intimacy of the narrative. Rather than simply retelling the video game’s journey, the movie will present a new perspective on the universe, and the filmmaker discussed his vision of the story in the interview
I want it to feel big, but weird and character driven. It is in that world, but with different main characters. There will be familiar faces that fans will be happy to see, but it is my story in that familiar space.
He also spoke about the physical tone of the project, saying that while there will be plenty of action in the story, it won’t be an overly violent and gruesome affair. Given his previous directorial works, that should be a perfect fit for Sarnoski, as his films are typically more focused on an emotional journey.
It has already been revealed that the script is nearly done, as Sarnoski confirmed that draft 2 of the screenplay is complete, with principal photography set to kick off in 2027. Sarnoski is also planning on bringing crew members to shoot on location in Iceland and Northern Ireland to depict the bleak post apocalyptic landscape.
This film is developing at an interesting time, especially following the release of the video game Death Stranding 2 On the Beach. While that title garnered a lot of attention for its visuals and technical achievements, some felt it presented a safer story than its decidedly out there 2019 precursor. The upcoming adaptation of Death Stranding seems set to delve deeper into that strange, unique narrative.
