Dead by Daylight, the popular Canadian survival horror video game, has found its director for the upcoming feature film adaptation.
Dead by Daylight is a five-player survival horror game in which four survivors are chased by one killer. The survivors work together to repair generators and escape, while the killer hunts them using supernatural powers and sacrifices them on meat hooks. The global hit was first announced as a feature film adaptation in March 2023 and is being developed by Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster.
The game enjoyed one of its most successful years in 2025, continuing to grow nearly a decade after its original release. According to Behaviour Interactive, the title has attracted more than 70 million players worldwide and averages around one million daily users, making it one of the most successful horror video games ever created. Known for its asymmetrical gameplay and survival-horror mechanics, Dead by Daylight has built a passionate fan base over the years. As a result, expectations for the film adaptation have remained high since its announcement.
The latest update follows a major development for the project earlier this year, when it was revealed that filmmaker Alexandre Aja and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick had boarded the adaptation. Their involvement generated significant excitement among horror fans given their experience with genre franchises. Readers can learn more about that announcement in our previous report on the Dead by Daylight movie bringing together Alexandre Aja and The Conjuring writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick.
The latest major development is the appointment of Icelandic filmmaker Thordur Palsson as director. Palsson made his feature directorial debut with The Damned in 2024, a survival thriller that showcased his ability to combine atmospheric visuals with psychological tension. His work has been praised for balancing stark landscapes with an underlying sense of dread. Palsson also directed the BBC Four Nordic noir television series The Valhalla Murders. The show proved successful in Iceland, winning two Edda Awards for Editing and Sound while receiving 15 nominations overall. It was later acquired by Netflix for international streaming. He is also currently working on the television miniseries Avalanche, which follows a meteorologist returning home to warn her community of an impending catastrophe.
BlumHouse production helmed another video game adaptation Five Nights at Freddy’s which was a record breaking box office hit along with other video game movies which took box offices by storm. The recent wave includes biggies like the two Super Mario movies (2019 and 2026) and A Minecraft Movie (2025) each nearing a billion dollars in box office numbers.
The anniversary presentation also unveiled several new game updates, including the much-anticipated Jason chapter, which launches on June 16. The project arrives at a time when video game adaptations continue to enjoy major commercial success. Blumhouse previously found box office success with Five Nights at Freddy’s, while recent adaptations such as A Minecraft Movie and Nintendo’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie demonstrated the growing appeal of game-inspired films among mainstream audiences.
While fans, especially children, have obviously raved about these movies overjoyed with the opportunity to embrace their games in an immersive theatrical experience, the overriding criticism is that these films have perfunctory plots packed with references and fan moments that only work as fanfare and nothing else. And so Palsson’s rooted storytelling might offer some freshness to formula.
The Dead by Daylight feature adaptation is currently expected to arrive in theaters in 2027.
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