Shazam Director Returns for Until Dawn After IP Movie Backlash

You might have thought that after the tumultuous experience with Shazam! and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, director David F. Sandberg would steer clear of IP films forever—and he felt the same way. However, with his new film Until Dawn set to hit theaters, Sandberg is opening up about the intense backlash from his DC Cinematic Universe projects and what drew him back into the world of IP adaptations.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Sandberg shared his enthusiasm for the script of Until Dawn, a film based on the beloved horror game. "What I loved about the script [is] that it wasn't trying to recreate the game," he explained. "Trying to condense 10 hours into two, or something like that. But it is scary still, even though we're doing a new thing." He acknowledged that fans of IP properties have strong opinions about how their favorite stories should be adapted to the screen.

Reflecting on his experience with the DCU, Sandberg admitted, "I mean, to be honest, fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you. You can get, like, death threats and everything so after Shazam 2, I was like, 'I never wanna do another IP-based movie because it's just not worth it.'" Despite this, the script for Until Dawn piqued his interest. "But then I was sent this script, and I was like, 'Ah, this would be so much fun to do, to do all these kinds of horrors? I kind of have to do it, and hope that the people see what we're trying to do and like it,'" he said. He praised the writers for their innovative time loop concept, which he believes captures the essence of the game without simply replicating it. "I really thought it was brilliant of the writers to come up with this time loop idea where the night starts over because then you do kind of get that feel of the game, when you're replaying it and making different choices. I think it's very much in the spirit of the game."

Sandberg understands that it's impossible to satisfy every fan when adapting an IP, but he believes his approach will resonate with Until Dawn enthusiasts. "I think we would've gotten a lot of critique if we had tried to [recreate the game], because people would've been like, 'It's not as good. It's not the same actors, because, you know, they're older now,'" he noted. "You wouldn't be able to better the game, so you'd just be in a losing situation."

Until Dawn was penned by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman, known for his work on It: Chapter Two, and features Ella Rubin in the cast. The film is scheduled to premiere in theaters on April 25, 2025.