Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima says this The Old Guard star would be a perfect Solid Snake. Released in 1987 for home computers, the original Metal Gear kicked off a stealth-based action-adventure gaming franchise that would grow to become one of the biggest in the world. With the release of Metal Gear Solid on the Playstation, the series entered the world of 3D gaming and became bigger than ever.

Of course, a big part of the success of the series is its main character Solid Snake, a special operations soldier modeled after Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken from John Carpenter’s cult classic Escape From New York. Given the very cinematic nature of Metal Gear Solid’s gameplay, plus the iconic status of Solid Snake himself, it’s no surprise that fans have long clamored for the video game series to get a theatrical movie adaptation. One of these fans happens to be Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who has been pushing to get a movie made since 2014 and even unveiled some concept art that helps flesh out his vision for what the movie should be.

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For his part, legendary Metal Gear creator Kojima recently weighed in on who could play Solid Snake in any movie adaptation of his video game series, and his idea is very intriguing. Kojima gave his take in an Instagram post and suggested actor Luca Marinelli at the very least has the right look to play the main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid:

There are many actors that I follow. Luca Marinelli recently caught my eye after watching The Old Guard and Martin Eden. He played an impressive villain in They Call Me Jeeg Robot, but I think that he will break out soon, and his popularity will increase. Also, I think if he donned a bandana [sic], he’d be a spitting image of Solid Snake!

Marwan Kenzari as Joe Luca Marinelli as Nicky The Old Guard

Indeed, many more people are now aware of Marinelli thanks to his performance as Nicky in Netflix’s hit action movie The Old Guard. Before joining Charlize Theron in the cast of that surprise success, Marinelli starred in several big Italian productions including Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty. Kojima also speaks of Marinelli’s turn as the villainous Zingaro in the superhero film They Call Me Jeeg Robot. Marinelli also appeared in the limited series Trust, about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping.

Though Marinelli is no doubt a rising name thanks to his appearance in The Old Guard, any studio that decides to go forward with a Metal Gear Solid movie will probably want a much bigger star than that to handle the lead role. Fans of course have their favorite choices to play Solid Snake in the movie, with Oscar Isaac, Norman Reedus, Christian Bale and Mads Mikkelsen ranking among the many names that have come up in fan casting scenarios. Whoever ends up playing Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid movie that eventually gets made will be stepping into a potentially iconic role in a film that, if it stays true to Kojima’s vision, will not only be action-packed but also incredibly weird.

More: 10 Movies To Watch If You Like The Metal Gear Solid Games

Source: Hideo Kojima/Instagram