It’s always a bummer whenever we get stories about any Silent Hill project that never saw the light of day. In this case, it’s not the Hideo Kojima-directed Silent Hills. Rather, this is one that no one even knew about! In a recent Twitter exchange, art director and creature designer Masahiro Ito (the man who designed Pyramid Head) shared not only a few tidbits about Pyramid Head himself, but also concept art from a cancelled 2013 Silent Hill project!

One of concept arts for a cancelled sequel to Silent Hill, which I drew in 2013. For the beginning of the story. I've uploaded this once though.
Also I can't tell you the details and upload the high-res version because
of NDA. pic.twitter.com/RFivtP6jBg

— 伊藤暢達_Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) December 8, 2018

As you can see (or not, depending on your eyesight), Ito had begun work on concept art for a SH game that was totally unrelated to the Kojima Silent Hills project. This project was ultimately canned in favour of Kojima’s. And we all know how that turned out. Unfortunately, due to NDA, this is as good as we’ll get in terms of the concept art, as well as the project itself.

As for Pyramid Head, the question lingers as to just what’s underneath that helmet of his. And the creator still won’t spill the beans.

I'm often asked, "What is the under the helmet of Pyramid Head?". But I'm not gonna answer that question.
Example, as soon as you are given the trick of a magic, the magic will be nothing to you.

However there is no way the helmet is the actual head of Pyramid Head.

— 伊藤暢達_Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) December 5, 2018

This seems to contradict what was said in the Silent Hill 2 documentary that was included in the PAL release of the game, where the narrator explained how Ito’s vision for Pyramid Head changed from “a human in a mask” to a monster with a hidden face as “that way it was more disturbing and less human”. This led some to believe that the helmet was part of Pyramid Head’s body.

Ito clarified the confusion, saying, “I never said, ‘the helmet/pyramid is his actual head’. ‘The pyramid instead of human’s face’ means just only ‘a different look’ on design.” As for what’s underneath that helmet, Ito is keeping mum. “I’m often asked, ‘What is the under the helmet of Pyramid Head?’. But I’m not gonna answer that question. Example, as soon as you are given the trick of a magic, the magic will be nothing to you.”

Fans continued to ask about the helmet, specifically the fleshy bulge on the back of Pyramid Head’s neck that can be seen in some of the assets (most notably in the Halloween content for Metal Gear Survive), but in other assets, it’s absent. Ito didn’t have anything to add to that one, making it another mystery that remains unsolved.

Also, Ito commented on the nine red square savepoint found at the end of Silent Hill 2 (that was also in the documentary), saying that he won’t explain that one “because of the same reason” regarding Pyramid Head.

It seems that the Silent Hill series is destined to remain bundled in mystery. But really, isn’t that part of the fun?