Until Dawn: David F. Sandberg, Gary Dauberman re-team for video game adaptation

Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation, Shazam!, and Shazam! Fury of the Gods director David F. Sandberg recently said that he’ll be returning to the horror genre with his next feature, which would be an expansion of a couple short films he previously made. Now we’ll have to wait and see if that actually does turn out to be his next feature, because The Hollywood Reporter has just broken the news that Sandberg is re-teaming with Annabelle: Creation screenwriter Gary Dauberman for a movie based on the horror video game Until Dawn! Well, either way, we’re getting a new horror movie from Sandberg.

The Hollywood Reporter notes, first released in 2015, Until Dawn is an interactive horror video game that follows eight friends and frenemies who are brought together a remote mountain retreat. With live or die scenarios featuring a mysterious killer, cannibalistic wendigos, a cable car, and a long-ago mining cave-in that reverberates into the present day, the members of the group must fight through their fear if they all hope to make it through the night in one piece. The game proved to be a surprise hit with critics and received numerous gaming awards nominations.

Sandberg and Dauberman haven’t revealed what exactly will be going on in their movie version of Until Dawn, but the project is described as being an “R-rated love letter to the horror genre, centering on an ensemble cast.” Dauberman’s script is a rewrite of a previous draft by Blair Butler, who wrote the vampire movie The Invitation.

Until Dawn is set up at Sony’s Screen Gems, where Dauberman has a first-look deal as part of the plan to “rebuild Screen Gems, Sony’s division focused on lower-budgeted fare, into a more productive label, with horror being a top focus.” Dauberman is producing the film through his company Coin Operated while Sandberg and Lotta Losten produce through their Mångata shingle. Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan are also producing. Ashley Brucks and Michael Bitar are overseeing the project for Screen Gems.

Are you a fan of the Until Dawn video game and are you glad to hear it’s getting a feature adaptation with David F. Sandberg at the helm? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.