Mads Mikkelsen’s portrayal of a war-torn father in Death Stranding was one of the standout performances in the game. Cliff Unger was a former United States military soldier who was torn apart from his family. Forced to live as a BT entity and searching endlessly for his baby whom he referred to as “BB,” Cliff’s character was one of the best and brilliantly written. Mads Mikkelsen gave life to the character and made him relatable through all the pain he had gone through.
Death Stranding ended with Cliff reconciling with his BB in a re-enactment and seeing his end just like in the past when he was shot dead. However, the emotional weight of the character was only enhanced by Mads Mikkelsen’s portrayal. Naturally, the audience related quite heavily with the character and they asked Hideo Kojima, the director of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, if Mads would reprise his role as Clifford Unger.
There were possibilities for his return but sources claimed it would conflict with Mads’ schedule. However, before fans could speculate even further, Hideo Kojima himself cleared out all the rumors regarding the return of Mads’ character.
We have received many enthusiastic messages from you saying, “I want to see Cliff in DS2 too!”. However, Mads is not appearing in DEATH STRANDING 2 ON THE BEACH. ⛱️ pic.twitter.com/wgGvBYWcmL
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) February 3, 2024
In addition to Hideo Kojima’s announcements, fans feel bringing Cliff back won’t do justice to the ending he got in the game as it was perfect for the character. Fans feel his story ended perfectly and dragging it further would only ruin the experience. Cliff was quite a memorable character and received a fitting end to his story. Bringing him back just because of hype won’t sit well with what Kojima has created.
When will Death Stranding 2 On the Beach Release?
Death Stranding 2 On the Beach recently received an update with the PlayStation State of Play live stream. Hideo Kojima is managing multiple projects including DS2, OD, and even Physint, the newest stealth game inspired by the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Although it is safe to say that Death Stranding 2 won’t be released this year, it will be the year after that.
A specific release date of the game hasn’t been announced so far by Hideo Kojima or his studio, but they did confirm the game will hit shelves in 2025. The exact period of the release is unknown but we will get more information as the year progresses. We also know that aside from Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Troy Baker will play roles in the game.
It is sure to be a game to remember as Kojima Productions is hard at work to make it as deeply invigorating as possible. Death Stranding 2 is set to be a PS5 Exclusive upon release. However, other consoles might see a release down the line given Death Stranding 1’s releases on multiple devices.
