[GameSpot] - Hideo Kojima Canned A Dark Superhero Project That Was Too Similar To The Boys

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Hideo Kojima has revealed that he was working on a project that he described as an "anti-hero" story that was similar in tone to The Boys. After he discovered the similarities between his project and the Amazon TV series, Kojima shelved his project and his plans to have Mads Mikkelsen star in it.

"I watched a few episodes that were delivered at the time when I was about to start a project that I had been warming up for a long time, and put it on hold because the concept was similar," Kojima tweeted. "Today, when superheroes continue to be mass-produced in the entertainment industry, this drama was to be a radical hard-boiled action film, neither hero nor villain, with an astonishingly black joke setup and a worldview that is the opposite of what we are used to."

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"THE BOYS," which I quit after 3 episodes of season 1. I thought I'd watch the rest of the show. Actually, I watched a few episodes that were delivered at the time when I was about to start a project that I had been warming up for a long time, pic.twitter.com/UpI00pUIHQ

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) June 26, 2022

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Today, when superheroes continue to be mass-produced in the entertainment industry, this drama was to be a radical hard-boiled action film, neither hero nor villain, with an astonishingly black joke setup and a worldview that is the opposite of what we are used to. https://t.co/L1xily8XII

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) June 26, 2022

I watched the first eight episodes of season one of THE BOYS. The concept was the same, a black "anti-hero" story in which a superhero and a human face off, but the setting, gimmicks, and tone were very different from what I had in mind for my previous project. pic.twitter.com/sekEiL6agE

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) June 27, 2022

Kojima didn't clarify if his project would have been a game or a film--his studio Kojima Productions has mentioned exploring films and music in addition to games--but once he saw that The Boys was thematically similar to his pitch, he shelved it. Fortunately for Kojima, no money was lost on this idea as it had been in production purely inside of his mind at the time.

Kojima is currently working with Xbox Game Studios on a new game and his studio has also pledged support to Ukrainian refugees seeking refuge in Japan. As for The Boys, the show is currently in its third season and has just aired the infamous Herogasm episode.

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