An exciting chapter in the Death Stranding universe is now taking shape and we finally have a clearer picture of what new Hideo Kojima has been cooking with his Death Stranding franchise outside of the games. Alongside an already announced live-action film adaptation and an anime movie, the veteran creator has now revealed Death Stranding Isolations (working title), an original anime TV series releasing on Disney+ sometime in 2027. From Nintendo’s upcoming Zelda and Mario movie to Sony’s The Last of Us and even the upcoming Assassin’s Creed TV series, video game adaptations are experiencing a massive surge as of late and are turning out to be a lucrative affair, as major publishers fight for their slice of the streaming pie. Now, Kojima is expanding his wonderfully weird Death Stranding IP with an anime series that’s unlike anything we’ve seen from the games.
Announced at the recent Disney+ Originals Preview event in Hong Kong, the upcoming Death Stranding Isolations anime series will follow a young man and woman whose “fates and hopes converge” in a world thrown into chaos. Kojima will himself oversee the project as executive producer alongside Takayuki Sano of E&H Production, who’ll serve as the director for the series. The Death Stranding Isolations’ story will be told via traditional hand-drawn 2D animation, created by some of Japan’s top talent at E&H Production. Kojima Productions also hinted at what we can expect from Disney+’s Death Stranding Isolations, teasing the anime series’ synopsis, which reads:
“Once, there was an explosion… Lonesome souls of the dead manifest in the physical world, reaching in search of the living. However, the connection they create triggers a massive explosion that eradicates anything of this world—a phenomenon referred to as the Death Stranding. These events wipe out nations as well as civilization itself. People who remain are now isolated, withdrawn, and without connections. As humanity stands at the brink a legendary porter set out to transport both cargo and wishes of its senders, reconnecting people in the hope that they might still be saved.
Based on the video game born out of the mind of legendary game creator, Hideo Kojima, comes a new animation series headed by Japan’s up-and-coming animation studio E&H production. Helmed by E&H’s Takayuki Sano, it follows in the footsteps of the original in spirit and ideas and depict the world of Death Stranding through a bold and yet subtle touch and top-class hand-drawn animation.
Somewhere in North America, just as Sam Bridges walks through the continent in order to save America, the someones are also trying to deal with their isolation in their own way. An old man trying to realize salvation through ways outside of the connection advocated by Bridges. A female warrior who tries to kickstart a world of constant fighting. A boy with a grudge against Bridges. A girl who embraces loneliness. On the precipice of the end of humanity and the world, their fates and hopes converge, as another story of Death Stranding begins. And now, comes another explosion… “
Talking about how the Japanese anime influenced him and the anime series came into being, Kojima, during the showcase, revealed, “I grew up loving Japanese anime, and it has shaped my worldview. I’ve always been a fan of Disney, since I was small, and I was glad that they showed my documentary on the platform. When they approached me, I decided to work with them.”
Debuting on Disney+ sometime in 2027, Death Stranding Isolations is just a placeholder for now and the series’ final name could change down the line.
