Dead by Daylight Film Adaptation Secures Director Thordur Palsson

During the live 10th-anniversary broadcast of the multiplayer horror game *Dead by Daylight* on June 15, 2026, Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Behaviour Interactive announced that Icelandic filmmaker Thordur Palsson will direct the feature-film adaptation. The news was delivered onstage in Montreal’s Old Port by Blumhouse founder Jason Blum and producer Stephen Mulrooney. Production is slated to begin filming in 2027; a release date has not yet been set.

Deadline Hollywood

*Dead by Daylight* launched on PC in 2016 and later expanded to PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch platforms. Developed by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive and published by 505 Games, the asymmetrical survival-horror title pits one player as a Killer against four Survivors who must repair generators and escape the Entity’s realm. The game has featured crossovers with franchises such as *Halloween*, *A Nightmare on Elm Street*, *The Evil Dead* and *Resident Evil*. An initial film announcement in March 2023 described the project as being in early development; the recent director appointment moves the adaptation into pre-production.

'Dead by Daylight' Film Adaptation Lands Director Thordur Palsson — PHANTASMAG

• Thordur Palsson – Director; known for Netflix’s *The Valhalla Murders* and the folk-horror film *The Damned* (2025). Represented by Sayle Screen, CAA, Sycamore Media and Jackoway Tyerman.

Deadline Hollywood

• Jason Blum – Founder and CEO of Blumhouse Atomic Monster; co-announced the director hire.

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT Movie Sets Director

• James Wan – Co-founder and CEO of Atomic Monster; provided additional commentary on the project’s tone.

Dead by Daylight movie adaptation has found its director

• Stephen Mulrooney – Chief product officer at Behaviour Interactive and producer on the film.

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• David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja – Screenwriters; Johnson-McGoldrick has credits on *The Conjuring* series and *Aquaman* films, while Aja directed *The Hills Have Eyes* and *Crawl*.

Dead by Daylight movie adaptation has found its director

• Executive producers include Behaviour Interactive’s Remi Racine, Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Judson Scott, Blumhouse’s Ryan Turek, and Striker Entertainment’s Russell Binder.

Deadline Hollywood

James Wan noted that roughly one million players engage with *Dead by Daylight* daily. Recent video-game adaptations have demonstrated strong box-office performance: *The Minecraft Movie* grossed $960 million, *The Super Mario Bros. Movie* earned $1.3 billion, and titles such as *Sonic the Hedgehog*, *Five Nights at Freddy’s* and *Iron Lung* have also achieved notable commercial success.

Variety Magazine

Jason Blum emphasized that the 10th anniversary was an ideal moment to reveal the director and expressed confidence in Palsson’s ability to translate the game’s experience to cinema. James Wan highlighted Palsson’s skill in generating terror that depends on audience investment in characters, citing *The Damned* as evidence. Stephen Mulrooney praised Palsson’s “distinct vision, atmospheric storytelling, and ability to build tension,” describing him as the “perfect creative voice” to serve both longtime fans and newcomers. Palsson himself said his primary goal is to capture the “dread, tension, and fear of what’s waiting in the fog,” aiming for horror that lingers after the credits roll.

Dead by Daylight movie adaptation has found its director

• “There is no better moment than the tenth anniversary to share this news. Thordur is the filmmaker we trust to carry ‘Dead by Daylight’ from the screen you play on to the big screen you watch in theaters.” — Jason Blum, Founder & CEO, Blumhouse Atomic Monster

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT Movie Sets Director

• “Thordur understands that the terror only lands if you care about who’s running, and The Damned proved he can make you feel the walls closing in. That is exactly the instinct this film needs on screen.” — James Wan, Co-founder & CEO, Atomic Monster

Hollywood Reporter

• “His distinct vision, atmospheric storytelling, and ability to build tension make him the perfect creative voice to bring our universe to life in a way that will resonate with both longtime fans and new audiences alike.” — Stephen Mulrooney, Chief Product Officer, Behaviour Interactive

Hollywood Reporter

• “The main thing is 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.” — Thordur Palsson, Director

IGN Entertainment

Pre-production is underway, with location scouting already confirming the inclusion of iconic maps such as The MacMillan Estate and Greenville. Filming is scheduled to commence in 2027, after which the project will move into post-production and marketing phases. No official release window has been announced, but the collaboration between Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Behaviour Interactive suggests a targeted theatrical rollout aimed at the game’s global fanbase.

Dead By Daylight Unveils Movie Adaptation on Its 10th Anniversary Stream