You might have thought you'd never see David F. Sandberg, the director behind *Shazam!* and *Shazam: Fury of the Gods*, take on another IP film or franchise. He felt the same way after the intense backlash from his DC Cinematic Universe projects. However, with his latest project, *Until Dawn*, set to hit theaters, Sandberg is sharing his thoughts on the "very, very crazy" reactions he faced and what drew him back to the world of IP films.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Sandberg expressed his excitement about the script for *Until Dawn*, which is 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 the challenges of working with game IPs, noting that fans can be very particular about how their favorite stories are adapted for the screen.
"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,'" Sandberg confessed, reflecting on his DCU experience and its aftermath.
Despite his reservations, the potential of the *Until Dawn* story intrigued him. "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 approach, particularly the time loop concept that echoes the game's replayability. "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 the challenge of pleasing every fan when adapting an IP, but he believes his approach with *Until Dawn* is the best way to capture the hearts of its fans. "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 explained. "You wouldn't be able to better the game, so you'd just be in a losing situation."
*Until Dawn* was written by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman, known for his work on *It: Chapter Two*, and stars Ella Rubin. The film is set to premiere in theaters on April 25, 2025.
