The long-awaited film adaptation of asymmetric horror hit Dead by Daylight has taken a major step forward with the announcement of its director. Icelandic filmmaker Thordur Palsson, best known for the Netflix police procedural series The Valhalla Murders and the folk horror film The Damned, will helm the project. The news was revealed during the game’s 10th anniversary broadcast this past weekend, where Palsson appeared alongside Blumhouse founder Jason Blum and producer Stephen Mulrooney.
Palsson shared that his connection to the game began during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he watched a flatmate play and was immediately struck by the sense of dread emanating from the screen. He eventually picked up the controller himself and became a fan, an experience he now hopes to channel into the film. “I want to capture the feeling of looking over your shoulder. I want to capture the dread, the tension, the fear of what’s waiting for you in The Fog,” Palsson said during the broadcast. “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.”
The screenplay comes from a formidable pair of horror veterans: Alexandre Aja, the French director behind Crawl, Piranha 3D, and Never Let Go, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, a writer with credits spanning three entries in The Conjuring franchise and both Aquaman films. Their combined expertise in creature features and supernatural horror suggests the adaptation will lean heavily into the tension and unpredictability that define the game’s moment-to-moment gameplay.
Blumhouse, the production powerhouse responsible for franchises like Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Get Out, is producing alongside Atomic Monster, the company run by horror icon James Wan. Developer Behaviour Interactive is also directly involved through Mulrooney’s dual role as producer and studio executive. Blum acknowledged that the project has moved slower than initially hoped since its announcement in early 2023, but promised that things are about to accelerate, with cameras expected to roll in 2027.
Fans of the game will find familiar ground in the film’s setting, as iconic in-game locations such as The MacMillan Estate and Greenville are confirmed to appear. Blum emphasized that the movie is being crafted first and foremost for the Dead by Daylight community, telling the broadcast audience, “We are making it for you guys. We hope this is one of many, many more to come.”
Originally released on PC in 2016, Dead by Daylight has grown into one of gaming’s most enduring multiplayer experiences, expanding across PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch while assembling a staggering roster of licensed horror crossovers — from Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street to Alien, Silent Hill, and even Nicolas Cage as a playable character. Translating that sprawling universe of killers, survivors, and relentless pursuit into a cohesive cinematic narrative will be no small feat, but with Palsson at the helm and a proven horror pedigree behind the camera, the adaptation appears to be in capable hands.