Mads Mikkelsen Won’t Be Returning For Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

According to director Hideo Kojima, Mads Mikkelsen will not be returning for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Mads Mikkelsen played the role of “Cliff” in the original Death Stranding and was one of the central characters of the story. Kojima-san essentially confirmed that the first Death Stranding concluded his character arc and that the character would forever remain in the story of Death Stranding and the memories of its players. 

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

Cliff was a fan-favorite character in the first Death Stranding, portrayed by the ever-handsome Mads Mikkelsen, he was a secondary antagonist that the players would confront during pivotal moments in the story. In a follow-up tweet, Kojima-san explains why Cliff won’t be a part of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. 

Cliff is a character who played a very important and special role in Death Stranding. Mads understood this and performed it beautifully. Mads’ Cliff will remain in the story of Death Stranding and in your memories forever. It is because we care about the character of Cliff that he will not appear in DS2.”

When Death Stranding was first announced, the inclusion of Mads Mikkelsen was a major selling point for many players. The actor was initially shown off in Death Stranding’s teaser trailer in 2016, showcasing his character in tactical gear as he sets out to hunt the player. 

After its initial announcement trailer back in TGA 2022, we finally got a more descriptive look at Death Stranding 2. The new trailer shows off familiar faces like Norman Reedus, Lea Seydoux and Troy Baker returning for their respective roles while three new unnamed characters are also shown.

Troy Baker’s character in particular has received a massive makeover. Going from his previous ominous hooded look into someone straight out of KISS, and did we mention he now has a guitar railgun? We got a look at Elle Fanning’s character, as well as the character being portrayed by Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller.

The trailer also featured a doll-like character based on the likeness of Turkish-German film director Fatih Akin. From what we have seen so far, Death Stranding 2 is shaping up to be just as mysterious and vague as its predecessor was before its release. Whether or not it will live up to the hype remains to be seen once the game comes out sometime next year.

A film adaptation of Death Stranding is also currently in the works and is intended to be “completely different” from the game.