Posted in: Blumhouse, Movies | Tagged: atomic monster, blumhouse, dead by daylight, james wan, jason blum, Thordur Palsson

Dead by Daylight Film Has Found Its Director In Thordur Palsson

The Dead by Daylight feature film has found its director. Thordur Palsson will direct for Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.

Published Sun, 14 Jun 2026 21:32:11 -0500

by Jeremy Konrad

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Article Summary

Dead by Daylight movie lands director Thordur Palsson for Blumhouse Atomic Monster as the hit horror game heads to theaters.
David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja are scripting the Dead by Daylight film during the game's 10th anniversary.
Blumhouse and Atomic Monster say Palsson can bring Dead by Daylight's terror, lore, and survival horror to the big screen.
A Dead by Daylight animated series is also reportedly in development, expanding Behaviour Interactive's horror franchise.

Dead by Daylight is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, it is coming to life in more ways than one. Last we heard, in 2024, the popular horror game was coming to the big screen from Blumhouse-Atomic Monster, and now we know that Thordur Palsson will direct from a script by David Leslie Johnston-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja. "There is no better moment than the 10th anniversary to share this news," said Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse Atomic Monster. "Thordur is the filmmaker we trust to carry Dead by Daylight from the screen you play on to the big screen you watch in theaters." Blum's co-founder and CEO, James Wan, said in a statement: "One million people step into Dead by Daylight daily, and this adaptation brings them the world they love most, from Greenville to The MacMillan Estate. Thordur understands that the terror only lands if you care about who's running, and The Damned proved he can make you feel the walls closing in. That is exactly the instinct this film needs on screen."

Dead By Daylight Film Coming, Animated Show May Be On The Horizon — Credit Behaviour

Dead By Daylight Also Getting An Animated Series?

But that is not all. Dread Central is also reporting that an animated series is in the works. Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical horror game developed by Behaviour Interactive, first released in 2016. The game pits one player, the killer, against four survivors in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The survivors' objective is to repair generators scattered throughout the map to power the exit gates and escape, while the killer uses various gruesome and cunning methods to hunt them down. The game boasts an assortment of original characters, its own ominous lore, and even the inclusion of several genre icons since its release, so this is a title that deserves plenty of care.

This game series could be a huge franchise and can be used to introduce a wealth of new horror icons into the mainstream. I doubt they would be able to incorporate the horror icons we all know and love as they do in the game, but that would not be the point of any of this. This is about making these original characters the new faces of fear, and they are heading in the right direction to make that a reality.