When talking about the original Death Stranding, Kojima said, "The game was about connection," which we knew. However, Kojima wasn’t the most confident about his future, adding,

Kojima first learned of Marinelli through his role in the Italian film They Call Me Jeeg, and a correspondence sprung up around the Japanese distribution of the film Martin Eden.

Kojima explains that during the pandemic, when he was casting for Death Stranding 2, Neil would be an important character that replaces Cliff from the first Death Stranding, and how the fans "would not be satisfied" unless the casting would surpass Mads Mikkelsen (who played Cliff in the first game).