Blumhouse-Atomic Monster first announced a film adaptation of Behaviour Interactive’s 2016 multiplayer survival horror game Dead by Daylight way back in 2023. However, further information about the project had been scarce until February 2026, when the production companies announced David Leslie Johnston-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja were writing the script.
With the film finally showing signs of life after three years, more news seemed imminent. During a massive livestreamed event for the game’s 10th anniversary on Sunday, Behaviour Interactive Chief Product Officer Stephen Mulrooney and Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum announced Thordur Palsson (The Damned) would direct the Dead by Daylight film. Blum promised that things with the movie were about to “speed up right about now” after its long delay.
Mulrooney and Blum both praised Palsson’s first feature film, 2024’s The Damned, and his ability to create a tense atmosphere on the big screen. “Our game is one that’s deeply rooted in atmosphere, and it was our goal to find someone with a distinct visual style who’s also a master at conveying the dread and tension you’d feel when you’re playing Dead by Daylight,” Mulrooney said.
Palsson then took the stage to explain his approach to making the film. “For me, the main thing is capturing the feeling of playing Dead by Daylight. I want to capture the feeling of looking over your shoulder,” Palsson said. “I want to capture the dread, the tension, the fear of what’s waiting for you in the fog. I love horror that stays with you after it’s over, and that’s the cinematic experience we want to bring to the big screen for you guys.”
Regarding the plot of the movie, Mulrooney was coy about details but said, “The film will take fans to some of the most iconic places in our world. Places like the MacMillan Estate and Greenville. And you can look forward to seeing some of your favorite faces in the fog. Recent fan favorites and original characters that started it all.”
Blum also took some time to play to his audience and throw shade at the Hollywood establishment and critics who turned their noses up at Blumhouse’s two Five Nights at Freddy’s films. “I think where Hollywood has really made a mistake is coming into projects like this and say, ‘Oh, you know, you know your game, but we know the movies,’ and we took the opposite approach with Scott Cawthon and Five Nights at Freddy’s, which is like, ‘You know Freddy’s, and we’re going to help you realize what you think the perfect movie would be,’ and that’s the approach we’re taking [with Dead by Daylight],” Blum said. “It’s a very deferential approach because what you guys feel so passionately about, we want you to feel that way about the movie.”
“We’re really partnering 100 percent, or 50-50, whatever you want to call it, with Behaviour so that we make a movie that is for the fans. And if anyone else happens to like it, that’s fine, but we’re not making it for them. We’re making it for you guys,” Blum told the cheering crowd.
According to Mulrooney, the Dead by Daylight movie will begin filming in 2027.
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