Shazam Director Returns for Until Dawn After IP Movie Backlash

It’s hard to imagine director David F. Sandberg ever returning to the world of big-budget IP filmmaking after his tumultuous experience with the DC Cinematic Universe. Yet, with his new horror film *Until Dawn* on the horizon, Sandberg is opening up about the intense fan reactions he faced and why this project brought him back into the fold of adapting beloved properties.

“What I loved about the script [is] that it wasn’t trying to recreate the game,” Sandberg shared with GamesRadar+. “Trying to condense 10 hours into two, or something like that. But it is scary still, even though we’re doing a new thing.” While the source material is a well-known interactive horror title, Sandberg emphasized that strict adherence to the game’s plot wasn’t the goal — capturing its spirit was.

The Pressure of Fan Expectations

Sandberg has firsthand experience with how passionate (and sometimes volatile) IP fans can be. Reflecting on his time with the *Shazam!* films, he admitted the backlash was intense enough to make him walk away from similar projects entirely. “To be honest, fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you. You can get death threats and everything. After *Shazam 2*, I was like, ‘I never want to do another IP-based movie because it’s just not worth it,’” he said.

Despite that sentiment, Sandberg found himself drawn back in when he read the screenplay for *Until Dawn*. “But then I was sent this script, and I was like, ‘Ah, this would be so much fun 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 explained.

A Fresh Take on a Beloved Game

The creative team behind *Until Dawn* opted for an original story infused with the essence of the source material rather than a direct retelling. The film introduces a time-loop mechanic that allows characters to relive the same night, echoing the branching narrative structure of the original game. “I think it's 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,” Sandberg noted. “I think it's very much in the spirit of the game.”

He also acknowledged the limitations of recreating the game beat-for-beat: “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 they’re older now.’ You wouldn’t be able to better the game, so you’d just be in a losing situation.”

Until Dawn: The Movie Arrives This Spring

Written by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman (*It: Chapter Two*), and starring Ella Rubin, *Until Dawn* promises a fresh cinematic take on the survival horror genre. The film hits theaters on April 25, 2025, offering both longtime fans and newcomers a thrilling ride rooted in suspense, tension, and a clever reimagining of the game’s core themes.