Until Dawn dev slams upcoming movie adaptation
As Sony and Supermassive Games announce a live-action Until Dawn movie, even the original team that worked on the game are unconvinced about how the source material will transfer into film.
18th Jan 2024 10:08
Images via Supermassive Games
Until Dawn dev slams upcoming movie adaptation
As Sony and Supermassive Games announce a live-action Until Dawn movie, even the original team that worked on the game are unconvinced about how the source material will transfer into film.
18th Jan 2024 10:08
Images via Supermassive Games
It looks we've got another one to add to the watchlist, as a live-action adaptation of Until Dawn is officially on the way. Video game adaptations are back in a big way, meaning we'll hopefully get a half-decent DOOM adaptation one day.
Still, for every box office juggernaut like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Five Nights at Freddy's, there's a Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City to remind us it's still easy to stumble into the dire depths of schlocky dialogue and crappy CGI. Fingers crossed Until Dawn can escape the curse of the video game adaptation.
Until Dawn dev slams upcoming movie adaptation
Like video game movies, horror games are back in a big way. Supermassive Games is pushing the genre forward with titles likes of The Quarry and Little Nightmares, however, it's arguably best known for Until Dawn. The 2015 interactive horror won a slew of awards and boasted an all-star cast of Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere.
We saw the divisive Black Mirror: Bandersnatch go down the choose-your-own-adventure route, and unless Until Dawn was releasing on home streaming, we doubt it would work this way. This means we'll be fixed into one specific ending, which defeats the whole purpose of playing the game.
Following the announcement that an Until Dawn movie is moving forward, the internet wasted no time in letting Sony know what it thinks of the idea. Namely, there are complaints that the branching storylines and innovative nature of the game's butterfly system will be lost during the move to the silver screen.
The biggest "ouch" comes from Until Dawn Designer Oli Clarke Smith, writing, "I spent years of my life putting player choices into this game and they're stripping out the meaning of it to make a movie." Despite it's slasher-inspired aesthetic, it's clear Until Dawn was never meant to become a movie.
Gaming writer Ryan Brown (aka Toadsanime) grumbled, "Until Dawn works *because* of its interactivity, not in spite of it, and there's not much to be gained from seeing an already cinematic work be retold in another cinematic medium, with one of its elements simply removed."
Someone else added, "Until Dawn is basically a playable movie but taking it away is gonna hurt the story and there’s only 3 routes they can go with how to present the story and none of them work on their own. I'm sure it’ll be fine but I really don't think something incredible will come from it."
What do we know about the Until Dawn movie?
Sony is a studio on the go at the moment with video game adaptations, boasting upcoming projects like Amazon's God of War series , Chad Stahelski's Ghost of Tsushima movie, and a Days Gone film. All of this is alongside continuing outings like HBO's The Last of Us and supposedly another Uncharted movie with Tom Holland.
Until Dawn is in some good company, with The Hollywood Reporter confirming the project has already nabbed Shazam's David F. Sandberg as director, while Annabelle's Gary Dauberman is working on the script that was originally penned by The Invitation's Blair Butler.
Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions have partnered on Until Dawn, although there's currently no word on a release window or any cast. Malek is pretty busy these days but could be a potential, while Panettiere recently returned from her acting hiatus for 2023's Scream VI. While the jury is still out on an Until Dawn movie, we'll definitely be there on opening night.
About The Author
Tom Chapman
Tom is Trending News Editor at GGRecon, with an NCTJ qualification in Broadcast Journalism and over seven years of experience writing about film, gaming, and television. With bylines at IGN, Digital Spy, Den of Geek, and more, Tom’s love of horror means he's well-versed in all things Resident Evil, with aspirations to be the next Chris Redfield.
