With a movie adaptation of Death Stranding in production, actor Norman Reedus has expressed a desire to reprise his role from the game, if the option allows for it.
“If it was an option, yeah, for sure,” Reedus told IGN when asked if he would be willing to appear in the Death Stranding movie. “I don’t know what’s happening with it. It’s so pre pre pre right now. But yeah, of course.”
Reedus provided both his voice and likeness for the character of Sam Porter Bridges in Hideo Kojima's open-world exploration action game. Set in the United States following a cataclysmic event, Sam is a courier tasked with delivering supplies to isolated colonies and reconnecting them via a wireless communications network known as the Chiral Network. Reedus also performed full motion capture for the role.
Death Stranding was released for PlayStation 4 in November 2019, and in 2023, A24 and Kojima Productions announced plans for a movie adaptation. According to the official blurb released at the time, "The film promises to delve into the mysteries surrounding the apocalyptic event called the “Death Stranding”, which blurred the lines between life and death, and brought forth nightmarish creatures into a world on the brink of collapse."
Kojima added at the time that they are not creating a "direct translation of the game," which could mean that Sam Porter Bridges may not even be in the movie.
"The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema," he said back in 2023. "We are creating a Death Stranding universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.”
While we may not know if Sam will be featured in a movie adaptation, we do know he'll be back for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The sequel is slated to arrive in June and will see the return of Reedus as Sam.
In the same interview, Reedus was asked about his confusion with the first game and if he still felt that way when approaching the sequel.
“As far as working with him and understanding where his head’s at, I don’t think anybody can understand where his head’s at,” Reedus explained. “He’s just that guy, he’s out there and he’s got great ideas. But story-wise, I did know what was happening more. There’s more action in it, there’s more of a definite goal to get to.”
“It’s always a trip working on those things,” The Walking Dead alum added. “It’s great, but it’s wild.”
The original Death Stranding actually featured quite a bit of Hollywood talent, including Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, and Margaret Qualley. It will be interesting to see if anyone from the game returns to reprise their role for the movie.