Horror Manga Artist Junji Ito Was Approached to Work on Silent Hills PT

Junji Ito, the renowned horror manga artist, was asked to be a part of the now-canceled Silent Hills PS4 game alongside Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. But as good as that sounds, nothing actually came of it.

PT will always be that "what-if" game to countless PlayStation owners. It was an incredible showcase for the modern potential of Silent Hills. To hear that the director of Pan's Labyrinth would be part of the development team only sweetened the deal. Throw in Ito himself, and you have a cocktail of pure fear.

Ito spoke recently at the Toronto Comics Art Festival, where he revealed his involvement with the canceled game, and just how minor it was.

I dont know anything about games. I dont play them. I am afraid if I get into them Ill miss deadlines. I have never played Silent Hill. I have known Hideo Kojima for 20 years. He is a nice older brother type.

When asked about Silent Hill

I told them I know nothing about games. Kojima told me I would be fine. Del Toro gave me tickets to Pacific Rim. It was excellent.

Explaining the initial approach

Kojima was at Konami back then. I came to a meeting and Del Toro hugged me. It turns out Del Toro is a big gamer. Del Toro wanted the game to be in one location and keep the horror in the players face in that way.

Once the Silent Hills meeting was over, we went to karaoke. I didnt hear anything after that. I heard that the plan got scrapped through outside sources. I have seen Kojima and Del Toro since. I never started designing monsters. Nothing exists. There are no roughs or sketches.

Special thanks to Twitter user @MinovskyArticle for the transcriptions.

Many folks informed about PT are already aware of how this story ends. Kojima and Konami had a falling out, leading to their separation. As a result, the Silent Hills game was canceled. Ito wasn't involved any further than the initial interactions.

Junji Ito is best known for his works on short story manga, such as The Enigma of Amigara Fault. I, personally, am a big fan of his work. So it's especially unfortunate to hear how he might have been involved in a horror game.