‘Dead by Daylight’ Film Adaptation Set at Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster
Ahead of a long-anticipated merger, Blumhouse and Atomic Monster are teaming up for a film adaptation of the hit multiplayer video game Dead by Daylight.
Variety shared the exclusive on Thursday. The report claims the companies are now actively looking for a writer as well as a director. For Blumhouse, this marks the second project which is an adaptation of a famous horror video game, as they’re now deep into production of their Five Nights at Freddy’s film.
Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical online game which pits four survivors against a supernatural killer. The roster of monsters and murderers is inspired by famous slasher franchises such as Friday the 13th and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, yet Behaviour Interactive (the studio behind the game) has managed to bring horror icons into the game too, including Freddy Krueger, Scream, Pinhead, Bubba Sawyer, and even Sadako from Ringu. In the competitive matches, the survivors are tasked with escaping a creepy location by performing a number of delicate tasks in order while trying to avoid the killer, who must sacrifice them to the nefarious Dark Entity.
Stephen Mulrooney, executive VP of Behaviour Interactive, expressed his excitement in a press release:
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Jason Blum and James Wan, two giants of the horror film industry, to further expand the ‘Dead by Daylight’ universe… At Behaviour, our motto is to create unique moments, together, forever. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are the ideal partners to craft ‘Dead by Daylight’s’ killer entrance onto the big screen.”
James Wan, founder and CEO of Atomic Monster, added the following:
“In ‘Dead by Daylight’ the Behaviour team has created a love letter to the world of horror, building an incredible environment teeming with atmosphere and terrifying villains — perfect for a scary cinematic adaptation. We’re big fans of the game at Atomic Monster, and are thrilled to be teaming up with Blumhouse to bring this frighteningly visceral world to the big screen.”
Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse, hyped up the project too:
“We know there are so many fans of ‘Dead by Daylight’ out there and think it’s imperative we find someone who appreciates and loves the world as much as we do, to help us bring the game to the big screen… We know our partners at Behaviour and Atomic Monster will help us bring the best version of this game to life.”
Mulrooney, Wan, and Blum are producers on the film. Behaviour Interactive’s Remi Racine, Atomic Monster’s Michael Clear and Judson Scott, Blumhouse’s Ryan Turek, and Striker Entertainment’s Russell Binder are executive producers.
Sources say the merger deal between Blumhouse and Atomic Monster could be finalized this summer. Meanwhile, the former is reaping the benefits of their hit PG-13, killer doll thriller M3GAN, which already has a sequel in active development. Moreover, Blumhouse is moving directly into the gaming industry with a new division, Blumhouse Games, that aims to create original, horror-themed video games below a $10M production budget.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
