Guillermo del Toro isn’t creatively involved in Death Stranding

Fans took notice when director Guillermo del Toro turned up in the recent trailer for Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding that was shown at the Game Awards in December. Many speculated it might signal that del Toro and Kojima, who shared directorial control on the bite-sized P.T. teaser game, were getting the band back together. But del Toro tells IGN that he isn’t creatively involved in Death Stranding.

“I’m involved as a character,” del Toro said in a recent phone interview. “Kojima-san called me and said, 'I want you to be a character in the game,' and I said, 'Gladly.' He’s discussed his ideas so I could understand the character, but other than that I’m not involved, creatively, at all."

The mysterious project is already filled with top-notch Hollywood talent. The announcement trailer featured The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus, while the clip from the Game Awards introduced Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen. Whatever mysteries lurk inside those trailers, it looks like Kojima himself is the one putting them there.

“This is entirely Kojima-san’s game,” del Toro said. “I’m just a puppet in his hands. My contribution is limited to being a cheerleader for his ideas, and being scanned for long hours at a time. That’s about it."

It’s not like del Toro doesn’t have enough to do. Late last year his Netflix exclusive cartoon series, called Trollhunters, was well received by kids and critics alike. He’s currently filming Pacific Rim: Uprising, the sequel to the 2013 film about kaiju-fighting robots. It features Star Wars: The Force Awakens John Boyega and Idris Elba, reprising his role as Stacker Pentecost.