Dead by Daylight movie is officially in development.
Dead by Daylight Horror Film Adaptation Gains Momentum with Director Announcement
Montreal / Los Angeles – June 14-15, 2026 — Behaviour Interactive, Blumhouse Atomic Monster, and producers James Wan and Jason Blum have provided a major update on the long-awaited big-screen adaptation of the popular asymmetrical multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight during the game’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
Icelandic filmmaker Thordur Palsson (The Damned, The Valhalla Murders) has been tapped to direct the project.
The announcement came as part of the anniversary livestream, with Blumhouse founder Jason Blum stating, “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.”
Key Project Details:
- Production Team: Produced by Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Behaviour Interactive. James Wan (Atomic Monster) and Jason Blum are key producers, alongside Stephen Mulrooney. The script was written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (The Conjuring 2, Insidious) and Alexandre Aja (Crawl, The Hills Have Eyes).
- Timeline: Pre-production is advancing, with principal photography expected to begin in 2027. A theatrical release is eyed for late 2027 or beyond.
- Story & Vision: The film will bring the Entity’s fog-shrouded nightmare world to life, featuring iconic locations like The MacMillan Estate and Greenville. It promises to capture the game’s tense survivor-vs-killer gameplay in a cinematic horror format, blending original lore with the game’s expansive universe of licensed and original killers/survivors. Further plot specifics remain under wraps.
The project was first announced in March 2023, with writers attached earlier in 2026.
Development had been relatively quiet until the recent 10th anniversary push, where Blum promised acceleration.
Fans and industry watchers are excited about the horror pedigree involved, though some note the challenge of adapting the game’s multiplayer structure into a narrative feature.
No cast details have been released yet.
Stay tuned for more updates as production ramps up—this could be one of the next big horror events following recent game-to-film successes.
Sources: Variety, IGN, Hollywood Reporter, official Dead by Daylight site, and anniversary broadcast coverage.
