The Until Dawn Film Will Have A New Story And Characters

Posted in: Games, Movies, Sony | Tagged: Until Dawn

The Until Dawn Film Will Have A New Story And Characters

During its press conference at CES, Sony said that the key to adapting a game like Until Dawn to film is "respecting the source material."

Published Tue, 07 Jan 2025 11:49:07 -0600
by Kaitlyn Booth
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Article Summary

• Until Dawn film presents a new story and characters, diverging from the iconic game.
• Director David F. Sandberg and writer Gary Dauberman bring horror expertise to the adaptation.
• Sony emphasizes "respecting the source material" for authentic, engaging adaptations.
• Until Dawn movie scheduled for April 25, 2025, with production wrapped and trailer anticipated soon.

About a year ago, we learned that Until Dawn would be the latest video game adaptation coming to the big screen. Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions would develop the movie. It was also announced that David F. Sandberg would be directing and Gary Dauberman writing. Sandberg's first two films, Light Out and Anabelle: Creation, were in the horror genre before he jumped over to superheroes and directed both of the Shazam! movies. Dauberman is also a veteran of the horror genre, having written all three of the Anabelle films, The Nun, and both of the big screen IT movies. By August, we had the cast, which includes Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, Odessa A'zion, Maia Mitchell, and Belmont Cameli, with Peter Stormare as Dr. Alan J. Hill reprising his role from the game. Yesterday, Sony held their press conference at CES (via IGN). Ashley Brucks, president of Sony's film division Screen Gems, spoke about the adaptation and revealed we'll be following a new cast of characters and a new story.

"I have been lucky to be part of Until Dawn since the original, incredible, super terrifying game, and what's why I'm so excited to be part of this film, because the whole thing is a love letter to horror, and it completely honors the spirit of the game," Stormare said. "The movie is going to be full of fresh characters and victims in a brand new story loaded with twists, so whether you're a longtime fan or discovering it for the first time, get ready for Until Dawn like you've never seen it before."

These days, video game adaptations aren't ashamed to admit their source material like they were back in the day. Now, we have films like Sonic and Mario, both of which fully embrace their video game origins and have been rewarded with critical and commercial success. The Sonic design is a blueprint of how fans will give you all of their money if you show them that you're listening and aren't ashamed of what they love. Brucks also believes this will be the key to making Until Dawn an excellent adaptation.

"The key to successfully adapting these games comes down to one thing: respecting the source material," Brucks continued. "Our close collaboration with PlayStation Productions gives us and our filmmakers the advantage of working directly with the creators of the game. It's a careful balance of trying to identify and incorporate what the fans love about the game and the experience, as well as offering something fresh and exciting to entice newcomers. In adapting Until Dawn, filmmaker David F. Sandberg, who is a big fan of the widely acclaimed game, took the essence of what makes the game great and selected elements we think are the most important to the fans and paid homage to it in the right way. We then built out Until Dawn's universe, using the core premise of a group of friends who encounter a variety of terrifying threats to tell a new story that is truly visceral and horrifying."

Until Dawn went into production last August and wrapped in October, it is currently scheduled to be released on April 25, 2025. There hasn't been a trailer or poster release at this time, but it should be here any day now.

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