A young Hideo Kojima saw Mad Max at the cinema, and it changed the trajectory of his life. Filled with a burning desire to create, to tell stories that mattered, he found himself developing video games, inspired by filmic sensibilities. During Sydney Film Festival (SFF) 2025, Kojima spoke about this journey alongside the man responsible for this inspiration, Mad Max director and creator George Miller, with both sharing their admiration for each other, and discussing the impact cinema and video games can have.
What was most clear from the outset was just how much Hideo Kojima owes to Miller. In conversation, he referred to the director as his ‘master.’ Watching Mad Max, he learned much about visuals and storytelling, and the importance of tales that expand on the human condition. The influence of Miller can be seen well within his work, in the space he leaves for deep emotions, and how titles like Death Stranding explore the nature of living and surviving.
Miller confirmed he saw much of his own sensibilities and stances on life in Kojima’s work, with the medium of video games being a powerful tool to explore, in layered fashion, a ‘comprehensive vision’ of the world.
‘Whichever way you experience a story, whether it’s musically … mythologically, in whichever you way you experience the story, it’s with the whole of the human being,’ Miller told the audience at SFF. ‘All the interactions, all the neurotransmitters that go through us as we’re experiencing this story – it has to be triggered at every level.’
‘You’re feeling the story in your viscera, in your heart, in your intellect. You’re experiencing it in terms of the collective, mythologically, spiritually. Those stories that endure, in whatever form, have that … [Kojima] has a deep understanding of that, and it’s evident.’
As Miller discussed, an understanding of the power of storytelling ‘doesn’t come easily’ but it’s what has drawn him into working alongside Kojima, and appreciating his work. Miller said he was ‘unexpectedly’ enamoured by the world of Death Stranding, and he experienced and understood it on multiple levels.
Notably, it’s why Miller appears as an in-game character named ‘Tarman’ in Death Stranding 2, lending his likeness (but not his voice).
Why is George Miller in Death Stranding 2?
As described, George Miller agreed to lend his likeness to Death Stranding 2 for a number of reasons. Beyond meeting Hideo Kojima many years ago, and developing a fondness for his worlds and his creative storytelling, Miller was game to appear as ‘yes’ is one of the most powerful words in the world of creativity.
Per Miller, he once said yes to learning tap dancing, and that led him to the opportunity to direct Happy Feet. In this case, saying yes led to a new experience being scanned and replicated digitally. This process actually took place in December 2021, mid-pandemic, so the shoot was organised remotely from Tokyo. Kojima prepared a unique costume for Miller – the same one is pretty accurately replicated within Death Stranding 2 – and so, the character of Tarman was born.
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As for why Miller was asked at all, that much was clear during the SFF chat. As Kojima admitted, he wanted the excuse to spend time with Miller, and to learn more about him and his creative practice. As an added bonus, the thought of having Miller in the game motivated Kojima to be ‘perfect’ in every aspect of development.
Why is Death Stranding 2 set in Australia?
This explanation also serves for why Australia is such an integral setting. When asked directly why Death Stranding 2 is set in Australia, Kojima said – jokingly – it was because he ‘loved George.’ It’s also fair to assume the influence of Mad Max on Kojima’s creative practice also contributed to this choice.
To add to the game’s Australian flavour, it was also revealed at SFF that Australian directors Danny and Michael Philippou, aka RackaRacka (Talk to Me, Bring Her Back) will also feature in Death Stranding 2. Kojima described excitement about pairing with like-minded creatives, and described them as having ‘quite a big role in the game.’
The Philippou brothers were in attendance at SFF, and as they shouted from the audience, they also ‘love Kojima.’ It’s likely this love inspired and motivated their inclusion.
What’s next for video games and cinema
In closing the discussion, Miller underlined that Kojima and the wider Kojima Productions team are operating at the centre of the Venn diagram that joins films and video games. Both storytelling mediums have been drawing closer together over a number of years, with many studios now leaning more into filmic techniques to tell more engaging stories.
Looking to the future, Miller spoke of a positive outlook, despite the current state of the world. As he described, stories – whether delivered in the medium of film or video games – become far more important as the world grows darker.
‘Even in times which we perceive as dark, often they’re times when the storytelling is most potent,’ Miller said. ‘You’ve seen that throughout history, where cultures use stories to make meaning and given comfort or provoke thought or remedies. That’s been right through all cultures, across all time.’
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While the mediums of cinema and video games will continue to change in future, with new technologies reshaping the methods of delivery, one thing will remain. Humans love to tell stories. We love to hear stories told by other humans.
In the end, storytelling is what makes us all human. Hearing Hideo Kojima and George Miller speak about this very act, and the power of storytelling as it transcends mediums, was inspiring.
ScreenHub was invited to attend Hideo Kojima and George Miller’s SFF 2025 on behalf of PlayStation.
