Hideo Kojima Says He Cast His Solid Snake-alike for Death Stranding 2 To Try and Surpass Mads Mikkelsen

The latest trailer for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach has sent waves of excitement through the gaming community, particularly due to the casting of Italian actor Luca Marinelli as the character Neil, whose appearance and demeanor strikingly echo the iconic Solid Snake from the Metal Gear series. Director Hideo Kojima went to great lengths to ensure that Neil would not only fill the shoes of the beloved Cliff from the original Death Stranding but also surpass the impact made by Mads Mikkelsen's performance.

In a detailed post on X/Twitter, Kojima shared the journey of casting Marinelli. He discovered the actor through his role in the Italian film They Call Me Jeeg and further engaged with him during the Japanese distribution of Martin Eden. Marinelli reached out to Kojima via email, expressing his admiration: "I grew up with Metal Gear. I am a big fan of yours. I am very honored that you saw the film I starred in. I wanted to tell you this directly."

Death Stranding 2 - Release Date Trailer Screenshots

42 ImagesImpressed by Marinelli's performance in The Old Guard, Kojima extended an offer via email and met with the actor after he completed filming The Eight Mountains. Marinelli not only accepted the role but also introduced Kojima to his wife, Alissa Jung, who was cast as Lucy. Despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, both actors underwent performance capture sessions, delivering stellar performances that shine through even in the brief glimpses shown in the trailer.

Kojima expressed his gratitude, stating, "We did their scan and pcap [performance capture] during the height of the pandemic, but their on-set performance was excellent. You can see that in the digitized results from even the small bits of the trailer. I can only thank Luca and Alissa for agreeing to perform when we didn't even have a script yet."

Marinelli's portrayal of Neil has become a highlight of the Death Stranding 2 trailer, culminating in a powerful scene where Neil dons a bandanna reminiscent of Solid Snake and commands a squad of soldiers in a style similar to Cliff from the first game. This visual nod to Kojima's past work with the Metal Gear series has sparked discussions about the potential connections between Neil and Solid Snake, although Neil is not expected to be a multiversal version of the latter.

Death Stranding 2 Cast

14 ImagesKojima has long been fascinated by Marinelli's potential to embody a character reminiscent of Solid Snake, as he mentioned back in 2020: "I think if he donned a bandanna, he'd be a spitting image of Solid Snake!"

While Neil is not a direct continuation of Solid Snake, the imagery and Marinelli's performance evoke Kojima's storied history with the Metal Gear franchise. Fans are eager to see if Kojima has indeed found the perfect actor to bring this new character to life. For deeper insights, check out IGN's feature, Who Is Kojima’s New ‘Solid Snake’ and Why Death Stranding 2 Looks Like the Closest We’ll Ever Get to Another Metal Gear Solid.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is scheduled to launch on June 26, 2025, exclusively for PlayStation 5, promising another thrilling chapter in Kojima's innovative storytelling.