You might have thought that David F. Sandberg, the director behind Shazam! and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, would never helm another IP film or franchise again—and honestly, he felt the same way. But as his new film, Until Dawn, is set to hit theaters, he’s reflecting on the intense backlash he faced with his previous DC Cinematic Universe projects and what ultimately drew him back into the world of IP.

"What I loved about the script [is] that it wasn't trying to recreate the game," Sandberg shared with GamesRadar+ about the beloved horror game turned film. "Trying to condense 10 hours into two, or something like that. But it is scary still, even though we're doing a new thing.” He highlighted that, even with a game property, fans have strong opinions on how their favorite stories should be brought to the screen.

"I mean, to be honest, fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you. You can get, like, death threats and everything, so after Shazam 2, I was like, 'I never wanna do another IP-based movie because it's just not worth it,'" the filmmaker admitted, reflecting on the DCU experience and its aftermath.

Yet, the potential of Until Dawn's story intrigued him. "But then I was sent this script, and I was like, 'Ah, this would be so much fun to do, to do all these kinds of horrors? I kind of have to do it, and hope that the people see what we're trying to do and like it,'" Sandberg said. He praised the writers for their brilliant idea of a time loop where the night starts over, capturing the essence of replaying the game and making different choices. "I think it's very much in the spirit of the game."

Sandberg understands the challenge of pleasing every fan when adapting an IP property, but his approach aims to capture the hearts of Until Dawn enthusiasts. "I think we would've gotten a lot of critique if we had tried to [recreate the game], because people would've been like, 'It's not as good. It's not the same actors, because, you know, they're older now,'" the Shazam director explained. "You wouldn't be able to better the game, so you'd just be in a losing situation."

Until Dawn, written by Blair Butler and Gary Dauberman, who is renowned for his work on It: Chapter Two, stars Ella Rubin and is scheduled to arrive in theaters on April 25, 2025.