Hideo Kojima's next project, codenamed Physint, has officially revealed Bill Skarsgård as its lead actor. The forthcoming title, which is a spiritual successor to the Metal Gear Solid series, will be published by Xbox.
Kojima was introduced to Skarsgård through Yoann Lemoine, also known as Woodkid, the composer for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Skarsgård, who has appeared in films such as 'It' and 'Boy Kills World,' was cast as the protagonist after Kojima's desire to work with the actor for a long time. "He's been in some excellent films. Directors I know have worked with him and can't praise him enough," Kojima stated on the Koji 10 radio program.
Kojima traveled to Sweden to meet Skarsgård and his family, discovering that the actor was a fan of the Metal Gear franchise. Following this, Kojima pitched the lead role in Physint, which Skarsgård accepted.
Actor scanning for Physint has already begun. "We've finished his scan now. We have to scan actors early, because processing the data takes a long time," Kojima explained. "We'll film the performance much later." Skarsgård is reportedly eager to begin preparing for the role, repeatedly asking Kojima for the script. "He keeps asking me for the script. I have the plot ready. But he wants to know the lines and how his character speaks. He wants to start preparing now. He's really eager. That's how deeply he gets into a role."
Kojima also highlighted the importance of Skarsgård's chemistry with co-star Charlee Fraser. "The poster we released the other day showed him with Charlee. Their chemistry is very important," he said. "We tested their on-screen chemistry and did a camera test. We scanned them in full makeup. Their clothes were just for reference; these aren't the final costumes. The contrast between these two is striking."
Skarsgård's involvement was kept under wraps, with even his parents unaware of his casting until the official announcement. "He's so serious; he hadn’t told anyone. It was confidential, of course, since we hadn't announced it," Kojima added. "Even his parents didn't know. That's impressive. He's a very conscientious person."
While Physint is still a long way from release, Kojima has described it as the "biggest-selling" game he could potentially create. Although unconfirmed, rumors suggest that Physint's initial budget at Sony exceeded $400 million, with Xbox reportedly investing a significantly lower sum to bring the project to completion.