The latest trailer for *Death Stranding 2: On the Beach* has sparked considerable excitement, especially with the casting of Italian actor Luca Marinelli as Neil, a character that evokes strong echoes of Solid Snake from the *Metal Gear* series. Director Hideo Kojima shared on X/Twitter the intriguing journey of casting Marinelli, emphasizing the importance of finding someone to fill the shoes left by Mads Mikkelsen's Cliff from the first game. "During the pandemic, I was casting for DS2," Kojima stated. "Neil would be an important role that replaces Cliff from DS1. The fans would not be satisfied unless the casting would surpass Mads."

Kojima's interest in Marinelli was piqued after watching his performance in the Italian film *They Call Me Jeeg*. Their connection deepened with the Japanese distribution of *Martin Eden*, where Marinelli reached out to Kojima directly, expressing his admiration: "I grew up with Metal Gear. I am a big fan of yours. I am very honored that you saw the film I starred in. I wanted to tell you this directly."

Death Stranding 2 - Release Date Trailer Screenshots

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Following Marinelli's role in *The Old Guard*, Kojima extended an offer, and after wrapping *The Eight Mountains*, Marinelli not only accepted but also introduced Kojima to his wife, Alissa Jung, for the role of Lucy. "We did their scan and pcap [performance capture] during the height of the pandemic, but their on-set performance was excellent," Kojima reflected. "You can see that in the digitized results from even the small bits of the trailer. I can only thank Luca and Alissa for agreeing to perform when we didn't even have a script yet."

Neil, portrayed by Marinelli, has emerged as a highlight from the *Death Stranding 2* trailer, notably for a scene where he dons a bandanna reminiscent of Solid Snake and commands a squad in a manner similar to Cliff from the original game. This visual nod to Kojima's past work with the *Metal Gear* series has not gone unnoticed by fans.

Death Stranding 2 Cast

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Kojima has been contemplating this casting choice and the iconic bandanna imagery for some time. Back in 2020, he remarked, "I think if he donned a bandanna, he'd be a spitting image of Solid Snake!" While Neil isn't likely to be a multiversal version of Snake, the imagery clearly connects to Kojima's storied history with *Metal Gear*. For more insight, check out IGN's feature, "Who Is Kojima’s New ‘Solid Snake’ and Why Death Stranding 2 Looks Like the Closest We’ll Ever Get to Another Metal Gear Solid."

*Death Stranding 2: On the Beach* is slated to launch on June 26, 2025, exclusively on PlayStation 5.