Shazam Director Hesitant on IP Films, Returns for Until Dawn Adaptation

You might not have expected to see David F. Sandberg, the director behind Shazam! and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, take on another IP film or franchise, and neither did he. However, with his new film Until Dawn set to hit theaters, Sandberg is opening up about the intense backlash from his previous DC Cinematic Universe projects and what ultimately drew him back to the world of IP.

In a conversation with GamesRadar+, Sandberg shared his enthusiasm for the Until Dawn script, emphasizing that it wasn't just another attempt to squeeze a 10-hour game into a two-hour movie. "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 also acknowledged the passionate nature of IP fans and their high expectations for how their favorite stories are brought to the screen.

Reflecting on his DCU experience, 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.'" Yet, the unique potential of Until Dawn's story changed his mind. "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' innovative time loop concept, which captures the essence of the game's replayability and choice-making, saying, "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 is the best way to win over 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 stars Ella Rubin. The film is slated to premiere in theaters on April 25, 2025.