Blumhouse and Atomic Monster's movie adaptation of Dead by Daylight, the hit horror multiplayer game from Behaviour Interactive, has finally landed its writers. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed this week that David Leslie Johnston-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja will pen the feature adaptation.
Both David Leslie Johnston-McGoldrick and Alexandre Aja are well-known and respected figures in the industry, especially the horror genre. Johnson-McGoldrick is perhaps best known for helping establish The Conjuring Universe, with his writing work on The Conjuring 2, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, and the upcoming The Conjuring: Last Rites. He also co-wrote the thriller Orphan and has writing credits for AMC's hit series The Walking Dead.
Alexandre Aja has experience both writing and directing horror. He rose to prominence with his work on High Tension, a 2003 slasher movie in which he co-wrote and directed. In 2006, he directed The Hills Have Eyes, a remake of Wes Craven's horror film from the '70s. Aja has since gone on to direct a string of notable horror movies, like Mirrors, Piranha 3D, and Crawl.
Johnson-McGoldrick and Aja have never collaborated before, but bringing them together marks a unique and intriguing move for Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster. Johnson-McGoldrick’s experience crafting large-scale supernatural horror stories, combined with Aja’s intense, visceral genre sensibilities, creates a compelling creative pairing for Dead by Daylight.
“What David and Alexandre bring to Dead by Daylight is a rare balance of character driven storytelling and relentless genre intensity,” Jason Blum, Blumhouse’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Drawing from survival horror and psychological terror, their work establishes a world where fear is not just experienced, but earned. It is a cinematic blueprint designed to attract a director who can elevate that vision through performance and scale.”
Blumhouse first announced plans to adapt Dead by Daylight in 2023, cautioning that it could take time before a script is finalized and the film moves into production. While this latest update is promising, it may still be a while before we learn the film’s exact plot direction or how deeply it will draw from the game’s existing lore.
“Alexandre and David are two modern masters of horror, and their script celebrates a dark distinction, Dead by Daylight is a game, its world is a nightmare,” added Stephen Mulrooney, producer and Behaviour’s chief product officer. “We look forward to working with a director who appreciates the depth of their story, and cannot wait to see their visceral vision brought to life.”
Developed by Behaviour Interactive, Dead by Daylight is a multiplayer survival horror game that released in 2016. Gameplay is an asymmetrical 4-vs-1 online game in which one player takes on the role of a powerful killer while four others are survivors trying to escape. The game initially featured only original killers like The Trapper, The Nurse, and The Huntress; but, over time, licensed horror icons from major franchise have been added to the game, including Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Ghostface, and Pyramid Head.
Dead by Daylight doesn’t have a traditional linear story. Instead, the game’s lore revolves around The Entity, an ancient being that traps killers and survivors in endless trials. Each survivor also has a backstory explaining how they were pulled into this nightmare realm. This concept could serve as the foundation of the movie adaptation.
The Dead by Daylight game has since reached over 60 million players worldwide, making this one of the more anticipated movie adaptations on the horizon. In addition to the games, we now have board games, comics, and cosmetics inspired by the franchise.