Announced late last month, animated film adaptation is steadily gaining momentum, with Raised by Wolves writer signing on to craft its screenplay, which will feature an original story separate from the events of the games.

Unlike the franchise’s other game-to-screen adaptation, the live-action A24 movie, which is expected to follow the events of game protagonist Sam Porter Bridges, the animated film will journey into unfamiliar territory for fans of Death Stranding, telling a completely original story while still set in the same post-apocalyptic world.

Although specific plot details are still being kept under wraps, the film will be in a similar vein to adult-targeted, animated genre films like the recently released Predator: Killer of Killers Disney+ anthology film.

The onboarding of Guzikowski, whose other film credits include the 2013 drama Prisoners and the 2014 TV series The Red Road, was announced by Hideo Kojima’s Tokyo and L.A.-based Kojima Productions and L.A.-based animation company Line Mileage.

“I love the world of Death Stranding, it’s so creatively freeing, so beautifully dark and yet hopeful; I’m so excited and honored that Hideo Kojima, whose work I’ve long admired, has invited me to dwell within his creation, to birth new stories into this fertile, mind-bending universe,” said Guzikowski in a statement, “Drawing and animation have always been near and dear to my heart, so to finally get to play in this space is a dream come true.”

“As an avid gamer, I can say, unequivocally, Death Stranding is the most cinematic, thought-provoking video game I have ever played,” added Line Mileage CCO Daniel Dominguez, “Playing it gave me the same emotional rush, visceral punch, and intellectual pleasure I had the first time I watched Blade Runner, or Ghost in the Shell. Adapting it into a form it so naturally evokes is an honour.”