Hideo Kojima has a voice role in a new My Chemical Romance short film. The Death Stranding creator plays “The Teacher” in Prelude to The End, a stop-motion animation that doubles as a 20th anniversary video for “The End.”, the opening track on The Black Parade. IGN spotted his name in the credits and reports the part is brief.
The film dropped on 29 October as a seven-minute short directed by visual artist Lauren Tsai. It follows Astrid, a student at the repressive Paper Academy boarding school who tumbles into a garbage chute looking for her confiscated sketchbook. It works as a sequel of sorts to Tsai’s 2025 short The Dying World Part One: Forgetting, which debuted at Annecy.
Kojima’s moment comes as Astrid checks her missed calls. According to IGN, he’s credited simply as The Teacher and scolds her in her third voicemail about late Japanese homework, with the message cutting off mid-word. IGN also lists Billie Eilish and Phoebe Bridgers among the callers. Stereogum lists Tsai as Astrid, Eilish as her friend, Bridgers as her sister and Kojima as the Teacher. John C. McGinley voices the Dean.
For Kojima, this looks like a fan getting a turn on stage. IGN notes his affection for the band is well documented: he posted about his MCR merch in early 2022 and later said he’d been to one of their shows. He also dropped a hint about the project by mentioning he’d picked up The Black Parade 20th Anniversary Edition on vinyl days earlier, then marked the release in a post on X.
Cameos are familiar territory for him. IGN points to the fourth-wall-breaking moments in the Metal Gear Solid series and his appearance in CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, a role he recently reprised in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2. IGN also says he’ll appear in a live-action cameo that hasn’t been revealed yet, while he works on OD and Physint. The first trailer for the anime spinoff Death Stranding Isolations also arrived this week.
The short isn’t only a streaming release. It screens at the band’s Hollywood Bowl shows on 30 and 31 October, and The Black Parade (20th Anniversary) expanded collection is out now. Billboard reports that Tsai made animated fan videos for MCR songs as a kid, and says in a statement that the film realises a lifelong ambition to work with the group.
Where can I watch Prelude to The End?
The film is streaming now. Billboard credits the band’s YouTube channel for the footage, and Consequence has the full cast list. We haven’t found any UAE or regional screening details.
Who else is in the cast?
Lauren Tsai voices Astrid. Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, Hideo Kojima and John C. McGinley fill the other roles. The soundtrack also features a live recording of Pascal Dusapin’s Flying River, Violin Concerto, performed by the Utopia Orchestra.
Is Kojima’s role a big one?
No. IGN describes it as a quick voice cameo, a single scolding voicemail about late homework.
