If you’ve been curious about the lore of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Hideo Kojima’s latest share is definitely worth a second look.

Recently, Kojima took to social media to reveal a sketch drawn by Kojima Productions’ Art Director, Yoji Shinkawa. According to Kojima, this sketch represents an early concept for a key character named "Tomorrow." While the lines still bear the rough marks of a draft, that familiar "Kojima-esque" vibe is already unmistakable.

What’s even more interesting is the "scrapped idea" backing this initial concept. In early iterations, Tomorrow was envisioned as a knife-wielding, extreme character who slashed her way through obstacles—highly aggressive and undeniably bloody. Sound a bit out of step with the established tone of the Death Stranding series?

That was exactly the problem. Kojima admitted that this action style felt too radical in practice. More importantly, it overlapped significantly with the combat design of the "Red Samurai." Keeping it would have blurred the distinction between the characters and potentially disrupted the game’s overall pacing. Consequently, the concept was scrapped, steering Tomorrow’s design toward the version we’ll eventually see in the final match.

Lately, Kojima seems increasingly willing to share the "intermediate states" of creation—not just the polished result, but the moments of revision, abandonment, and rethinking. Perhaps it’s precisely this cycle of rejection and reinvention that gives Death Stranding its unique identity.

How will Tomorrow actually appear in the final release? This early sketch is likely just the tip of the iceberg.

The above content is compiled by ModeZone, a fashion and entertainment magazine.