The world of Death Stranding brings together renowned talent from the big screen, with Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Mads Mikkelsen making up just a small portion of the game’s huge cast. Death Stranding 2 is no different, with new additions like Mad Max director George Miller and Elle Fanning. However, it is Mikkelsen who continues to be praised by PS5 players, but Hideo Kojima is setting the record straight about his role in the upcoming sequel.
An expanded look at Death Stranding 2 recently debuted in Sony’s latest State of Play presentation, giving us more questions than answers as to what this new PS5 game is actually about. Between a guitar-toting Troy Baker and a stop-motion puppet, Kojima expresses on social media that “we have received many enthusiastic messages” requesting the return of Mads Mikkelsen. The Casino Royale actor won’t be appearing in the sequel, though.
If you played Death Stranding, one of the best PS5 games available, you’ll know that Mikkelsen’s return isn’t exactly possible. “Cliff is a character who played a very important and special role in Death Stranding. Mads understood this and performed it beautifully,” Kojima says in a follow-up social media post. While Mikkelsen will “remain in the story of Death Stranding”, Kojima asks players to “please understand” that the character’s absence is because Kojima Productions “care about the character.”
While it will be a shame to see Mikkelsen left on the sidelines, there are still plenty of other aspects to look forward to. Not only could Death Stranding 2 be one of the best open world games on PS5, but it also looks like Kojima’s most ambitious title yet. Continuing Sam Porter Bridges’s mission to rebuild the Chiral Network in areas, Death Stranding 2’s world looks absolutely bonkers.
You’ve got enormous moons cascading over the landscape, cyborg enemies roaming the mountains and desert, and some very Metal Gear Solid-style mechs in the mix too. Of course, you’ll still be delivering essential items to the remains of humanity along the way. But if we flip back to Metal Gear Solid for one moment, we now know that Kojima isn’t done with the espionage genre yet.
Separate from this fresh look at Death Stranding 2, Kojima also announced another project known as Physint – his return to making stealth-focused games. That’s alongside his Xbox exclusive OD, one of many new Xbox games we can’t wait to get our hands on.