Death Stranding: Isolations Trailer Revealed
Gamers will be familiar with the name Hideo Kojima. The Japanese game designer and director led the Metal Gear franchise. Although it began in 1987, it really registered on most people's radars with Metal Gear Solid, released for the original PlayStation by Konami in 1998. Featuring innovative stealth-based gameplay and cinematic presentation, it was one of the most influential games of its era. Kojima released several sequels across subsequent generations of PlayStation, continuing to blur the boundaries between games and movies. By the time Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (PlayStation 4) came around, it seemed like half the game was cutscenes.
In 2015, Kojima left Konami and established an independent studio, Kojima Productions. Its first game was Death Stranding for the PlayStation 4. Set in a post-apocalyptic America, where dangerous creatures roam the Earth, players are put in the shoes of a courier named Sam Porter Bridges. The game features the voices and likenesses of Hollywood stars Norman Reedus, Marget Qualley, Léa Seydoux, Mads Mikkelsen, Troy Baker and Lindsay Wagner. There are also cameos from film directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn. The game also received a 'Director's Cut' release on PlayStation 5. A full sequel, Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, was released in 2025.
Kojima Productions have ambitions beyond the world of games, and both a live-action and anime feature films have been announced to be in production. Now, an anime series has also been announced that will stream exclusively on Disney+ and other Disney services (we presume this means Hulu) in 2027.
Death Stranding: Isolations is set in the world of Death Stranding but will feature a completely separate story and characters from the games. The series will feature a young man and woman as they set off on an adventure. It will be produced in 2D animation and will be produced by E&H Productions in association with Kojima Productions.
Hideo Kojima serves as Executive Producer, and the director is Takayuki Sano. Acclaimed author Tow Ubukata (Mardock Scramble, Ghost In The Shell: Arise, Psycho Pass) is credited with series composition and screenplay. Uber-talented Russian artist Ilya Kuvshinov (Birthday Wonderland, Ghost In The Shell SAC_2045) is contributing character designs.
Sano says, "One of the unique abilities of entertainment is its power to enhance the spirituality of those who consume it, and I think this is something that Mr. Kojima’s works have always achieved. As a result, I approached this production with an exceptionally strong sense of duty and responsibility. I knew that no matter what, I needed to accomplish the same thing."
The first teaser trailer has been released; you can check it out here. There's not a whole lot to it to be honest, but it establishes a pretty creepy atmosphere. It could be that the series is leaning towards sci-fi horror rather than straight post-apocalyptic science fiction. Either way, we look forward to a longer trailer or a more detailed promo, sometime before it streams next year.
STORY SYNOPSIS
“My mom became a crater.”
The Death Stranding—a catastrophic series of explosions caused when the dead crept into our world and collided with the living.
In the wake of this cataclysm, many were forced to live in absolute isolation—among them, a young girl. Although this lonely existence was forced upon her, she soon grows to prefer solitude, eschewing all opportunities for real human connection and allowing herself to be strung along by fate.
In DEATH STRANDING, legendary game creator Hideo Kojima brought you a haunting vision of a shattered world. Now, that world expands into new frontiers with a brand-new animation series.
The story is set in North America immediately after Sam—the protagonist of the game—reconnects the continent by means of the Chiral Network. However, as America is reborn from the ashes, the renewed connections that bind it together bring about new and unforeseen consequences.
In this tumultuous new landscape, there are some who walk a different path to the one chosen by Sam and his Bridges comrades: a wise old man who connects people through a method that defies all reckoning; a female soldier ensnared in a cycle of war and destruction; a boy who seethes with rage at the absurdity of his life...and of course, the girl who chose to sever all ties with the outside world...Fate has other plans for her, however, and chance encounters see her launched headfirst into a world she does not recognize
The announcement was shared during Kojima Productions' 10th Anniversary Event Beyond The Strand: The Odyssey of Creation and Endeavour at Azabudai Hills Gallery, Tokyo.
