Hideo Kojimacalls Martin Scorsese the “second god” to another director, the 80-year-old who made perhaps the best movie of the 2010s. The video game designer behindMetal Gear,Zone of the EndersandDeath Strandingis hardly the only person to express admiration forthe director behindGoodfellas,Taxi Driver,The Departed, and countless more movie classics.
Kojima’s games are indeed quite cinematic themselves, and groundbreaking besides,so it should come as no surprise that he draws inspiration from one of real cinema’s greatest and most innovative artists. But one Scorsese film stands above all others according to the legendary game designer. Naming his favorite films of all-time, Kojima citedTaxi Driveramong his top four. But he also praised a film by another director for whom he has revealed even greater reverence.
Kojima indeed loves the works of Scorsese, but his first god is George Miller, whoseMad Max: Fury Roadtopped ScreenRant’s rankingof the best movies of the 2010s. Kojima’s own top four includes theMad Maxsequel, along withTaxi Driver, Kubrick’s2001: A Space Odysseyand Kurosawa’sHigh and Low.
When it comes to the question of which filmmaker Kojima admires most,the director ofScreenRant’s best 2010s movie ranked above Scorsese. Asked in an interview if he uses the social media platform Letterboxd, theMetal Gearmastermind indicated that he’s never heard of it. Upon being told that Scorsese uses it, he replied with glowing praise, while revealing the filmmaker he ranks at number one (viaGQ):
If Scorsese’s doing it, I can’t criticize Scorsese. He’s the second god. The first is George Miller.
Our Take On Kojima Ranking Miller Above Scorsese
Kojima Gave Miller A Cameo In One Of His Games
Kojima’s games all lean strongly toward action, and hisDeath Strandingseries takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting, so there is nothing at all surprising about him loving arguably the greatest post-apocalyptic action movie of all-time. Scorsese’s work sometimes includes action, but mostly he makes dramas that derive their excitement from filmmaking technique and great needle-drops, more than gunplay, stunts or vehicular chases.
Kojima respects Scorsese’s work, particularlyTaxi Driver, but one would expect him to place Miller at the top of his personal ranking. Not only has he expressed his love for Miller’s work in the past, heaping praise on 2024’s divisiveFuriosa,he even used the director’s likeness in hisDeath Stranding 2title, a fitting gesture given Miller’s influence on his games.
The admiration between Kojima and Miller is indeed a two-way street. Back in 2024, theFury Roaddirector discussed 2015’sMad Maxvideo game, expressing disapproval, while tapping Kojima as the man to make a proper game set in theMad Maxuniverse. Given Kojima’s obvious love for theMad Maxsaga, it seems he would indeed be the perfect person to create a game that lives up to the cinematic glories of Miller’s films. Even wilder would be a Kojima-madeTaxi Drivergame, but that might be wishing for too much.
