Death Stranding fans rejoice! Hideo Kojima‘s groundbreaking video game franchise is set to expand with an all-new animated series that’s heading to Disney+.
At Disney’s Asia Pacific originals content showcase in Hong Kong, Kojima made a surprise appearance to announce the new show, Death Stranding Isolations (working title), that is scheduled to hit Disney+ in 2027.
Launched in 2019 by Kojima Productions, Death Stranding became an instant classic and bestseller that built upon Kojima’s legendary world building skills and marrying them with breathtaking cinematic visuals. The game featured actors Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Margaret Qualley, Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Lindsay Wagner in prominent roles. A sequel game, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, was released in June this year for the PlayStation 5. And the Death Stranding will grow with a feature film adaptation also in the works from A24.
Kojima, who will serve as executive producer of the animated series, appeared on the Hong Kong stage with the show’s director Takayuki Sano (Bullet/Bullet, Gridman Universe) to share details on the project, the latest expansion of Death Stranding franchise. New concept art created by Ilya Kuvshinov, who served as character designer for Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, was also revealed.
Speaking through a translator, Kojima said that the series will be “pretty mind-blowing” and that he wanted to expand his franchise into anime as it would allow him to do things you can only do with animation. He added the series will have new and different characters.
Asked why he was working with Disney, Kojima said he was a longtime fan of the company and worked with them on the 2023 documentary, Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds. He added that Disney approached him about the project while working together on the doc.
As for his motivation for making the series, Kojima said he realized there were people who may not play video games, and he wanted to share the world of Death Stranding with more people.
The series will utilize traditional hand-drawn 2D animation style, with E&H Production (Ninja Kamui, Red Cat Ramen), one of Japan’s top animation studios, currently working on the project.
Disney+ also provided a brief outline for the series, “Set in the world of Death Stranding, Death Stranding Isolations (working title) will tell a completely new story, separate from that of the video games. The upcoming series will follow a young man and woman as they set out on an adventure.”
A Disney+ poster for ‘Death Stranding Isolations.’
Disney+
