Hideo Kojima recently shared that he cast Margaret Qualley as Mama in Death Stranding after being captivated by her performance in a Spike Jonze-directed Kenzo fragrance advertisement. On April 25, Kojima took to Twitter to express his admiration, posting the viral commercial and stating, "I saw this and offered her the role of Mama (Lockne) in Death Stranding."
The advertisement features Qualley dancing to a pulsating dance track reminiscent of Fat Boy Slim's iconic "Weapon of Choice" video, which famously starred Christopher Walken. Qualley's performance is characterized by a unique, choreographed routine involving shaking, grimacing, and even firing lasers from her fingers, capturing the surreal and engaging essence that likely appealed to Kojima.
In Death Stranding, Qualley portrays Mama, also known as Målingen, a pivotal character and one of the greatest inventors in the United Cities of America. Alongside her twin sister Lockne, whom she also plays, Mama is instrumental in developing the Chiral Network, a crucial communications system for the game's fictional world.
You can watch the full, bizarre, yet highly entertaining Kenzo fragrance advertisement below:
I saw this and offered her the role of Mama (Lockne) in Death Stranding. https://t.co/UDJa2NjbO6
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) April 25, 2025
Fans were quick to react to Kojima's tweet, with one calling him "a visionary," and another humorously suggesting their own casting: "I do this most mornings, Kojima-san. Hire me too."
Currently, Kojima is busy with several projects, including Death Stranding 2, set to release on June 26, 2025, a live-action Death Stranding film in collaboration with A24, and OD, an Xbox-published game described by Kojima as "a game I have always wanted to make." Additionally, he is developing a PlayStation exclusive action espionage project.
