Death Stranding 2: On The Beach launched a new trailer this week, and fans have noticed the resemblance a certain character has to Solid Snake, to which Kojima has now responded.
Hideo Kojima has revealed more about the casting decisions for the upcoming sequel, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Fans have responded in droves to the latest trailer from Kojima Productions, quickly noticing the striking resemblance a character in the trailer has to one from a previous Kojima title.
The new character, played by actor Luca Marinelli, has fueled most of the trailer’s buzz due to his resemblance to a previous Kojima protagonist, Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Today, Hideo Kojima shed more light on the casting of Marinelli and shared his thoughts in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Kojima explains, “Luca Marinelli, the man we asked to play the role of Neil. I first learned of him through his role as the antagonist, Fabio Cannizzaro (Zingaro), in the Italian film They Call Me Jeeg, and I fell in love with his amazing acting in Jack London’s autobiographical film Martin Eden, which was released in Japan in 2020.”
Kojima continued with the reasoning behind his casting, explaining that Marinelli had written him a letter, saying, “I grew up with Metal Gear. I am a big fan of yours. I am very honoured that you saw the film I starred in. I wanted to tell you this directly.”
This apparently got the gears in motion, leading to the casting decisions made for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Kojima explained that the criteria for the casting decision were momentous. He was looking for a choice that would please fans, saying, “Fans would not be satisfied unless the casting would surpass Mads,” aiming to cement Death Stranding 2 as not “just another sequel.”
The post concludes with Kojima mentioning that after watching The Old Guard and Marinelli’s performance in the film, he became “the only choice for the role of Neil.” After meeting with Marinelli, Kojima also cast his wife, Alissa Jung, as the character Lucy and noted that “their on-set performance was excellent.” He thanked the two actors for agreeing to be part of Death Stranding 2, even though they apparently did not have a script yet.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launches worldwide on June 26, 2025.
