Dead by Daylight movie adaptation has found its director

Dead by Daylight‘s live-action film adaptation has found its director in Thordur Palsson.

Back in 2023, it was announced that Blumhouse – the horror-focused movie production company behind the likes of Paranormal Activity, Sinister, Insidious, and Get Out – was joining the many other companies bringing video games to the big screen by adapting Dead by Daylight into a film.

Now as part of this weekend’s Dead by Daylight 10th anniversary broadcast, it has been announced that Thordur Palsson will be handling director duties. Icelandic native Palsson is known for The Valhalla Murders, an eight-episode police procedural television series which aired on Netflix, and he’s also helmed folk horror film, The Damned.

Palsson was joined by Blumhouse founder Jason Blum and the film’s producer Stephen Mulrooney (who is also part of Dead by Daylight studio, Behaviour) to share news of his appointment. Palsson said he first discovered Dead by Daylight during the Covid 19 pandemic, when his flatmate played it. The director noted he could feel the “dread” coming from the screen, and praised how “cinematic” it all felt. He soon played for himself, and is now looking forward to adapting Dead by Daylight into a film.

“For me, the main thing is capturing the feeling of playing Dead by Daylight,” Palsson said during the broadcast. “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. 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.”

Blum added the Dead by Daylight film is being made for the fans of the game. “If anyone else happens to like it, that’s fine. But, we are making it for you guys,” he said to the audience. “We hope this is one of many, many more to come.” As for when the film will be released, Blum said progress had perhaps taken longer than expected, but things are “going to speed up right about now”, with filming starting in 2027. A number of the game’s iconic locations will also appear in the film, such as The MacMillan Estate and Greenville.

The Dead by Daylight film is being developed in conjunction with Behaviour Interactive and Atomic Monster (the production company run by prominent horror director James Wan), with a script by David Leslie Johnston-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja. Johnston-McGoldrick has worked with Atomic Monster’s James Wan previously on The Conjuring franchise, while Aja was the director and screenwriter behind movies like The Hills Have Eyes and Crawl.

As for the game, it has had a number of film and TV cross-overs since its conception in 2016. This includes a Stranger Things-themed chapter and the chance to play as iconic actor Nicolas Cage (who was able to fake his own death). Meanwhile,Terrifier icon Art the Clown is coming to Dead by Daylight as part of a new Chapter in November.