Live-Action DEATH STRANDING Movie Will Be Directed by A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE Director Michael Sarnoski

The director of Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One will be stepping into Hideo Kojima’s wild surreal world of Death Stranding. Michael Sarnoski is set to write and direct the live-action adaptation of the mind-bending video game for A24 and Kojima Productions.Death Stranding is a trip. The story is set in a hauntingly fractured future America, it follows Sam Porter Bridges (originally played by Norman Reedus) as he hauls cargo across a landscape infested with ghostly creatures and time-warping rain. It’s a meditation on loneliness, human connection, and the end of the world with some very weird, very Kojima touches.The game has pulled in over 19 million players since its debut on PlayStation 4 in 2019 and features a stacked cast that also includes Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro, and Margaret Qualley.I was a big fan of Sarnoski’s breakout film Pig, which followed a man embark on a mission to find the truffle pig that was stolen from him. The movie was both a savage and a quiet, melancholic character study, with Nicolas Cage delivering one of his best performances in years. That film put Sarnoski on Hollywood’s radar and led him to helm A Quiet Place: Day One, which grossed over $250 million globally this past summer. Now, he's taking on one of the most genre-defying game universes that’s been created.Kojima himself has long talked about wanting his games to evolve beyond traditional formats, and now that evolution has found its filmmaker.The creator of the game previously admitted that it’s going to be "quite difficult" to adapt, saying: "It’s easier to adapt it into a TV series, like The Last of Us. It’s quite difficult to adapt a 50-60 hour game like Death Stranding into a 2-3 hour movie."Kojima also explained that cuts would have to be made, adding, "The story of the game as is won’t fit into just two hours." However, he has hope that the film will be successful because of other video game projects that have been developed over the years that have been successful like The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He said:"In the past, film adaptations of video games always failed… But in the last 4-5 years, people who understand games have taken on the task of adapting it into a film or drama. Several hits have been made, like [The Super Mario Bros. Movie]. That’s the trend these days.”The Death Stranding movie is being produced in collaboration with A24 and when talking about their involvement and what they will bring to the movie, Kojima said:"With A24, I want to make something that’s based on a game but also indie and artistic – something that can win awards at film festivals like Cannes, Venice or Sundance."When previously talking about the film, Kojima explained that it won’t be a direct translation of the game: "There are a lot of 'game adaptation films' out there but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game. The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema."He added that they are expanding the Death Stranding world: "We are creating a Death Stranding universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.” Kojima also added that he believes A24's "innovative approach" to storytelling matches what Kojima Productions has been doing for the last eight years.The original game “challenges players to reconnect a fractured society after the cataclysmic ‘Death Stranding’ event. This has opened a doorway between the living and the dead, leading to creatures from the afterlife roaming the fallen world marred by a desolate society. Carrying the disconnected remnants of humanity’s future in his hands, players embody Sam Bridges as he embarks on a mission to deliver hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America.” This is going to be a very hard game to adapt into a film and I hope that Sarnoski has the talent and skills as a filmmaker and storyteller to make deliver a great movie. Source: Deadline

Apr 7, 2025 - 18:15

Live-Action DEATH STRANDING Movie Will Be Directed by A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE Director Michael Sarnoski

The director of Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One will be stepping into Hideo Kojima’s wild surreal world of Death Stranding. Michael Sarnoski is set to write and direct the live-action adaptation of the mind-bending video game for A24 and Kojima Productions.

Death Stranding is a trip. The story is set in a hauntingly fractured future America, it follows Sam Porter Bridges (originally played by Norman Reedus) as he hauls cargo across a landscape infested with ghostly creatures and time-warping rain. It’s a meditation on loneliness, human connection, and the end of the world with some very weird, very Kojima touches.

The game has pulled in over 19 million players since its debut on PlayStation 4 in 2019 and features a stacked cast that also includes Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Guillermo del Toro, and Margaret Qualley.

I was a big fan of Sarnoski’s breakout film Pig, which followed a man embark on a mission to find the truffle pig that was stolen from him. The movie was both a savage and a quiet, melancholic character study, with Nicolas Cage delivering one of his best performances in years.

That film put Sarnoski on Hollywood’s radar and led him to helm A Quiet Place: Day One, which grossed over $250 million globally this past summer. Now, he's taking on one of the most genre-defying game universes that’s been created.

Kojima himself has long talked about wanting his games to evolve beyond traditional formats, and now that evolution has found its filmmaker.

The creator of the game previously admitted that it’s going to be "quite difficult" to adapt, saying: "It’s easier to adapt it into a TV series, like The Last of Us. It’s quite difficult to adapt a 50-60 hour game like Death Stranding into a 2-3 hour movie."

Kojima also explained that cuts would have to be made, adding, "The story of the game as is won’t fit into just two hours." However, he has hope that the film will be successful because of other video game projects that have been developed over the years that have been successful like The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He said:

"In the past, film adaptations of video games always failed… But in the last 4-5 years, people who understand games have taken on the task of adapting it into a film or drama. Several hits have been made, like [The Super Mario Bros. Movie]. That’s the trend these days.”

The Death Stranding movie is being produced in collaboration with A24 and when talking about their involvement and what they will bring to the movie, Kojima said:

"With A24, I want to make something that’s based on a game but also indie and artistic – something that can win awards at film festivals like Cannes, Venice or Sundance."

When previously talking about the film, Kojima explained that it won’t be a direct translation of the game: "There are a lot of 'game adaptation films' out there but what we are creating is not just a direct translation of the game. The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema."

He added that they are expanding the Death Stranding world: "We are creating a Death Stranding universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.” Kojima also added that he believes A24's "innovative approach" to storytelling matches what Kojima Productions has been doing for the last eight years.

The original game “challenges players to reconnect a fractured society after the cataclysmic ‘Death Stranding’ event. This has opened a doorway between the living and the dead, leading to creatures from the afterlife roaming the fallen world marred by a desolate society. Carrying the disconnected remnants of humanity’s future in his hands, players embody Sam Bridges as he embarks on a mission to deliver hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America.”

This is going to be a very hard game to adapt into a film and I hope that Sarnoski has the talent and skills as a filmmaker and storyteller to make deliver a great movie.

Source: Deadline