Death Stranding has already received a sequel in video game form; now an own Anime will follow soon. A first trailer has now been released, showcasing impressions from the film. There is, however, a bitter pill for fans of mastermind Hideo Kojima.
What kind of film is this? On September 23, 2025, Kojima Productions announced a new film during their 10th anniversary. It is supposed to be an anime produced by the Japanese studio ABC Animation. The film is set in the universe of Death Stranding, the video game series that just received a sequel this year.
The working title is Death Stranding Mosquito, but it may change during production. Simultaneously with the announcement, a first trailer was released, which you can see below:
Return to a Dark World
What does the trailer show? As usual with productions from Hideo Kojima, everything is a bit vague and mysterious. Initially, the 2:15 minute long trailer shows a man floating underwater with a sore growing on his mouth.
He discovers a second man in the water, who strongly resembles the couriers from the video game due to his clothing – a character like the one played by Norman Reedus. The first man then swims towards the second.
In the next, longer scene, the two face each other, and a fight begins. Raw action is displayed, with punches and kicks that seem, as in many anime, more impactful than they probably should be, but still feel grounded.
Finally, the two men run towards each other and wrestle – the trailer ends shortly after.
What is there to know about the film? What exactly Death Stranding Mosquito is about is still unknown. Fans hoping that Hideo Kojima himself would direct will be disappointed. Contrary to what fans might expect, he is stepping back in this regard and only taking on the role of producer.
The screenplay is by Aaron Guzikowski, an American author known for writing Prisoners. Directed by Hiroshi Miyamoto. This is surprising since Kojima is known as a big film fan. Almost all of his games thrive on cinematic presentation and contain long, movie-like cutscenes. The record still belongs to the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4 with a 71-minute sequence.
It is unclear why Kojima is not directing the anime himself and finally making a film. A possible reason could be his work on the next game OD. That one also awaits with cinematic elements.
How is the trailer received? If you look at the comments under the trailer on YouTube, the mood is mostly positive. People are excited that Death Stranding is not limited to games. User bluetigergaming summarizes: “I am a fan of the idea of expanding the Death Stranding universe with films and series because it looks pretty cool”.
Particular praise is given for the action displayed and the style of the animations. The drawings appear dark and hand-drawn, actually combining 2D with 3D elements. User mork2972 mentions: “The CG anime actually looks pretty good. The hatching and blurring are all top-notch!”
When the anime will be released is still unknown. However, the first trailer already makes one crave more, and we can be curious about what Kojima and his team have planned regarding Death Stranding. What do you think about it? Feel free to let us know in the comments. Kojima himself is a special director in many ways, including this: A legendary developer has trained skills to create better games – If he used them, he would probably end up in prison
