There was an early trailer forDeath Stranding 2in whichwe were shown a character that looked a lot like a 2025 take on Solid Snake. That character has since been revealed to be someone entirely unrelated to Metal Gear named Neil, but after seeing themselves in the trailer, the actor playing the character thought the same thing as the rest of us.
Hideo Kojima revealed even more about the development and inner workings of Death Stranding 2 during the Sydney Film Festival (thanks,GamesRadar). The topic of Neil looking an awful lot like the most famous character Kojima has created to date was broached as the head of Kojima Productions was discussing how he needed someone who could match the performance Mads Mikkelsen put on in the firstDeath Stranding.
Neil is played by Luca Marinelli, and after the trailer revealing him for the first time aired, Kojima asked the actor what he thought of it and how his friends reacted to seeing him in the game for the first time. Turns out, despite having been cast long enough ago that Marinelli presumably knew his character’s name, he assumed the same as the rest of us when he saw himself in Death Stranding 2.
You’re Not The Only One Who Thought That Was Snake In Death Stranding 2
Even The Guy Playing Not-Snake Thought He Was Snake
“Luca goes ‘Oh Snake is wonderful. I’m so happy to be Snake.’ I go ‘no, you’re not Snake. You just have a bandana on your head!'” Kojima revealed to those listening in at the film festival. As social media was buzzing, trying to figure out if Kojima could somehow include Solid Snake in his new series at his new studio, the man himself was explaining to the actor playing the character that no, they are not playing Snake in a non-Metal Gear game.
Beyond noting that Neil and Snake both wear bandanas, Kojima doesn’t acknowledge that the two characters look remarkably similar. The look extends beyond a bandana, and since Marinelli had presumably performed voice and motion capture work up until the airing of that trailer, they may not have seen what their character would actually look like once fully rendered. You see yourself in what looks like Solid Snake cosplay with the man who created the character directing the game, it’s natural that he jumped to that conclusion.
The wait for Death Stranding 2 is almost over, with the Kojima Productions sequel releasing exclusively onPS5on May 24, 2025. Kojima has admittedthe game would have been year as much as two years soonerhad it not been for the pandemic. That aside, all signs point to it being worth the wait.
