Actress Elle Fanning marked her 25th birthday at the production site of Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima’s DS2 project, known to fans as Death Stranding 2. To honor the milestone, she received a pink cake adorned with cryptobiotes, and photographs from the moment circulated online via Kojima’s official channels.
The footage shows Fanning in a motion capture suit designed to record her full range of movements for seamless translation into the game’s performance capture pipeline. A separate camera setup focuses on capturing lip movements and facial expressions, mounted on a headpiece to align with the actor’s natural cues.
The cake features a cheerful inscription, candles, and the cryptobionts theme, nodding to the energy-replenishing insects that appear within the game’s universe. The design also includes the DS2 logo, signaling the project without naming Death Stranding 2 explicitly. Kojima chose not to reference the title directly or label the project as a sequel in his public communications surrounding the celebration. The public celebration coincided with Fanning’s 25th birthday, observed on April 9, with images released a few days later by Kojima’s team.
In previous remarks, Kojima hinted that the narrative arc for DS2 was crafted with Elle Fanning in mind for a leading role. There is also talk of a key character named Fragile, reportedly linked to Lea Seydoux’s portrayal, a detail that has sparked fan speculation about the character lineup and story direction for the project.
As production continues, the collaboration between Fanning and Kojima’s team appears to place a strong emphasis on performance capture fidelity and cinematic storytelling. The combination of Fanning’s screen presence and the high-precision capture setup underscores the studio’s commitment to delivering a distinct and immersive experience that aligns with Kojima’s signature approach to game design and narrative depth. Fans and industry observers alike watch closely to see how the DS2 project will evolve, balancing intricate character development with the moment-to-moment uncertainty that has long defined Kojima’s work. The birthday celebrations served as a tasteful reminder of the creative energy fueling the project and the ongoing partnership between the actress and the development team.