A man fights another man whose face is covered with a black good that looks like a breathing aparatus in the anime film Death Stranding Mosquito Kojima Productions/ABC Animation

DEATH STRANDING Anime Spinoff Movie Unleashes Stylish Teaser Trailer

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Michael Walsh | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 4:21 PM ET

Imagine you started watching Lost midway through season three without knowing anything about the show. Now imagine you got hit in the head with a large cartoon mallet during your first episode. That’s how I feel watching anything from Death Stranding. I find it beautiful, surreal, and wholly confusing. From what I understand, a lot of people who actually played the video game feel the same way. And yet my general bafflement at the franchise isn’t stopping me from enjoying the first teaser for its anime spinoff movie, Death Stranding Mosquito, which looks as exciting as it does weird.

Earlier this summer, we reported on a second Death Stranding movie going into production. In addition to the live-action adaptation starring the game’s cast, we’re getting an anime film written by Raised by Wolves‘ Aaron Guzikowski. It’s not based on the game or its characters. Death Stranding Mosquito, which is only a working title as of now, takes place in the world of Hideo Kojima’s bizarre land where the living and dead share a strange connection.

Now Kojima Productions has given us our first look at the stylish movie from director Hiroshi Miyamoto. The Death Stranding Mosquito trailer opens with a haunting sequence underwater before going to the surface where strange creatures roam. It then ends with a brutal fight.

If you know exactly what us going on here and, more importantly, what it means, we just want to say hello to you, Hideo Kojima. What an honor to have you reading this piece. If you only sort/kinda/maybe know a fraction of what’s going on here, well, we don’t believe you.

When will we find out if you were in fact right? We’re not sure, either. This teaser trailer does not hint at a possible release date. Of course it didn’t. If there’s one thing we know about Death Stranding it’s that you never really know what’s going on. Like this trailer, you just know what’s ever is happening is exciting and weird.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

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