Hideo Kojima Says He Cast His Solid Snake-alike for Death Stranding 2 To Try and Surpass Mads Mikkelsen

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach’s latest trailer unveiled a wealth of new information, most notably the casting of Luca Marinelli as Neil, a character whose striking resemblance to Solid Snake has generated significant buzz. Director Hideo Kojima’s casting process for this pivotal role, intended to succeed Mads Mikkelsen’s Cliff from the first game, proved particularly meticulous.

On X/Twitter, Kojima detailed his search, revealing that he first discovered Marinelli through They Call Me Jeeg. A subsequent exchange arose concerning the Japanese distribution of Martin Eden, with Marinelli proactively emailing Kojima: "I grew up with Metal Gear. I am a big fan of yours. I am very honored that you saw the film I starred in. I wanted to tell you this directly."

Following Marinelli's performance in The Old Guard, Kojima extended an offer. After Marinelli completed filming The Eight Mountains, they spoke, and the actor subsequently agreed to the role. Marinelli further facilitated the casting of his wife, Alissa Jung, as Lucy.

Death Stranding 2 - Release Date Trailer Screenshots

42 Images

Kojima noted the exceptional performance capture work completed during the pandemic, stating, "We did their scan and pcap [performance capture] during the height of the pandemic, but their on-set performance was excellent. You can see that in the digitized results from even the small bits of the trailer. I can only thank Luca and Alissa for agreeing to perform when we didn't even have a script yet."

Neil’s introduction in the trailer, culminating in him sporting a bandana reminiscent of Solid Snake and commanding soldiers similarly to Cliff, has become a major talking point. This visual connection isn't new to Kojima; he previously commented in 2020: "I think if he donned a bandanna, he'd be a spitting image of Solid Snake!"

While Neil’s connection to Solid Snake remains speculative, the visual parallels are undeniable, sparking comparisons to Kojima’s Metal Gear legacy. For a deeper dive, see IGN’s article, “Who Is Kojima’s New ‘Solid Snake’ and Why Death Stranding 2 Looks Like the Closest We’ll Ever Get to Another Metal Gear Solid.”

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach launches June 26, 2025, exclusively on PlayStation 5.

Death Stranding 2 Cast

14 Images