Keanu Reeves could have starred in Death Stranding
Hideo Kojima wanted Mads Mikkelsen instead, though.
Keanu Reeves came out to a cheering crowd at Microsoft's E3 Press Conference, told us all we were breathtaking and then dropped some knowledge about CyberPunk 2077 . As it happens, though, the John Wick star could have been talking about a different game altogether.
We found out at San Diego Comic-Con that Reeves was originally suggested to play a key character in Death Stranding, but director Hideo Kojima opted for Mads Mikkelsen instead.
"I originally was recommended Keanu Reeves but I wanted Mads," Kojima said during a panel on storytelling at Comic-Con, according to Twitter user Kalai Chik, a writer for Asia Pacific Arts. Mikkelsen is known for his roles in Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the Hannibal TV series.
Later, Kojima brought out a model of a baby in a little preservation tube, because Kojima.
Hideo: “I originally was recommended Keanu Reeves but I wanted Madds.” #DeathStranding #hideokojima pic.twitter.com/KY442aQsIx
— Kalai 📸 SDCC (@kalai_chik) July 21, 2019
Mikkelsen will play Cliff in the game, who looks to be the lead bad guy across from protagonist Sam (Norman Reedus). Death Stranding will launch on the PlayStation 4 on Nov. 8, 2019.
Death Stranding is the first game from Kojima Productions, a studio founded by legendary game developer Hideo Kojima. After a rocky departure from Konami, where he built up the Metal Gear franchise, among other projects, Kojima started his own independent studio and revealed the first title would be exclusive to Sony's PlayStation 4.
