Large chunks of Death Stranding 2 would have needed rewriting if Elle Fanning had refused to be in the game. Hideo Kojima revealed how he created a character specifically for Fanning and those parts would have needed to be altered if the actress decided not to accept the role.
Who is the Death Stranding 2 character played by Elle Fanning?
Kojima remained very tight-lipped about Fanning’s role in the game, only telling his Brain Structure podcast that “she’s a very, very important character.” The creator has used “Elle’s talents and charm to create a character unlike any other,” even going as far as rewriting the script following new ideas that came to him after the pair first met:
I changed a lot, I even added in new scenes. So we changed stuff during performance captures, but I wanted actors like Elle to be a part of the creative process.
If the actress had turned down the part, Kojima “would have had to throw out the scenes that I had written, since she plays a major role.” The good news is that Fanning agreed to join Death Stranding 2 alongside Norman Reedus as Samuel “Sam” Porter Bridges, Léa Seydoux as Fragile, and Troy Baker as Higgs Monaghan, so no rewriting is necessary. Shioli Kutsuna will also be taking on the role of a new character. One character that won’t be returning, though, is Heartman.
