Director David F. Sandberg seems done with the world of superheroes after two Shazam! movies, and is returning to his horror roots with a new film. Via a story in The Hollywood Reporter, we’ve learned that the Swedish director of Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation has signed on to direct a feature film version of Until Dawn, an adaptation of the popular PlayStation horror video game, for Sony Pictures. It’s being developed by Screen Gems, together with PlayStation Productions. All three companies are under the larger Sony umbrella.
Gary Dauberman, the screenwriter behind hit horror franchises It, Annabelle, and The Nun is doing a rewrite on the script originally written by Blair Butler. Butler had previously written wrote Sony’s vampire film, The Invitation. Speaking of vampires, Dauberman also recently finished his adaptation of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, which is sitting on a shelf at Warner Bros. We’re all still waiting for that one. Disney recently announced Dauberman as the one taking the helm of a long-awaited adaptation of the ’90s animated hit, Gargoyles.
Until Dawn is an interactive horror video game that came out back in 2015. The game focuses on eight friends who arrive one day at a remote mountain retreat. There, they come face-to-face with several deadly scenarios, a killer on the loose, and even cannibal wendigos. All the members of the group of friends have to face their biggest fears, or they won’t live to see another day. Until Dawn ended up being a big seller, and critics also loved it. Until Dawn ultimately received several gaming awards nominations. Sony is no doubt hoping they have the same game-to-live-action success that they had with The Last of Us. No word on when the movie goes before the cameras, or any release window. However, we wouldn’t expect it before 2026.