Death Stranding movie director Michael Sarnoski says we may see some characters from the games despite the adaptation being "very much its own thing"

A24 is now in the business of making video game adaptations, and while everyone's eyes are on Elden Ring, it sounds like Death Stranding could be rapidly approaching production, too. During a recent chat about The Death of Robin Hood, writer-director Michael Sarnoski - who directed 2024's A Quiet Place: Day One, as well - shared information about his upcoming Death Stranding movie.

His comments come from an interview at IGN Live 2026, where he was asked about the current state of the project and his experience working with A24 and Hideo Kojima on the big live-action feature. "I'm writing the script right now and hopefully almost done with that and really excited to dive into it," he confirmed first thing.

The Death of Robin Hood releases on 19th June, so it's safe to say Sarnoski should now be free to fully focus on Death Stranding. However, he makes it sound like progress has been steady in spite of everything: "They've read a draft. We're working on some revisions together, and they all seem super excited and happy with it." He also underlined again - after some comments in September 2025 - the movie is "a story with my own characters and my own sort of corner of this world". Recent hits like the Fallout TV show have proven this might be the best way to go with beloved properties.

Sarnoski had especially good things to say about Kojima, praising his knowledge about cinema (a quick look at Kojima's socials confirms this): "I was impressed that when he read this script, without me needing to talk to him about it, he knew every single [movie] reference. He was like, 'Oh, you're doing a Come and See reference there! I see that. I like that.' He just knows movies incredibly well."

Overall, the filmmaker is trying to "explore something that's meaningful to me" while sticking to the series' fundamental themes of connection and expression. Still, he teased we "might see some characters from the game pop up". Considering all the actors (and directors) appearing across the two games with their real likenesses, that sounds like a particularly easy thing to do in this movie.

Meanwhile, there's also an animated Death Stranding movie in development with Raised by Wolves creator Aaron Guzikowski, though details on that project are scarcer.