Calling an updated version of Death StrandingDirector's Cut is a bit of a misnomer. Famed game director Hideo Kojima has even said Death Stranding Director's Cut isn't a director's cut, because it doesn't fit the traditional definition of the term, and that he wasn't involved in editing the recent reveal trailer. The new title for Death Stranding is more or less a marketing strategy by Sony, the game's publisher on PlayStation, making this odd sequence of events strangely similar to another famous director's cut - Blade Runner.

For those unaware, Ridley Scott's 1982 cult classic sci-fi film starring Harrison Ford was not initially the cultural darling it is today. Blade Runner received mixed reviews, and barely recouped its budget. However, it has had an enduring legacy because there are many different versions of Blade Runner - most notably its theatrical release, the Director's Cut, and The Final Cut.

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Blade Runner's history spans a much greater length of time than the comparatively short lifespan of Death Stranding. 25 years passed between Blade Runner's initial release and The Final Cut - which could more accurately be described as a director's cut. Death Stranding's confusing marketing jargon has only come about two years after the game first launched on PlayStation 4, yet the two series of events are strikingly similar.

The Director's Cuts Of Death Stranding & Blade Runner Compared

Director's of Death Stranding and Blade Runner, Hideo Kojima and Ridley Scott

The Blade Runner Director's Cut had very little hands-on work done by Ridley Scott. Distributor Warner Brothers had screened an unfinished, 70mm workprint cut instead of the theatrical release in 1990, and viewers lobbied to have that version finished. Though Scott was consulted, what WB labeled the Blade Runner Director's Cut, wasn't actually so.

Death Stranding Director's Cut already makes no sense since Hideo Kojima wasn't restricted in the content put into the game's initial release. He's already noted that all the content coming in the Director's Cut was made post-launch, but the real parallel comes from the recent trailer. According to Kojima, he wasn't directly involved in creating it, which has prompted him to make his own Death Stranding Director's Cut trailer. It would seem that Kojima at least had some input, since the trailer - which involves protagonist Sam Bridges jumping in and out of a box - is quite Kojima-esque.

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Kojima's second version of the Death Stranding Director's Cut trailer will be akin to Blade Runner: The Final Cut. In 2007, 25 years after Blade Runner first premiered, Scott was finally able to release his definitive version of the film. The Final Cut more accurately represents a director's cut, and is considered canon for its sequel Blade Runner 2049, which released in 2017 directed by Denis Villeneuve.

The titling of Death Stranding Director's Cut already doesn't make much sense for a video game, and even less so for a Kojima game, since content was not cut by the publisher, but this whole saga surrounding the new version's trailer is oddly similar to that of Blade Runner, perhaps the film most notorious for having many versions. Kojima is a noted film buff, and the circumstances are weirdly fitting since he's involved.

Next: Death Stranding Director's Cut: Everything New Revealed So Far