April 27, 2025: Director David F. Sandberg has revealed that he will no longer work on Intellectual Property (IP)-based projects, at least for the time being, after receiving death threats and backlash from fans following the release of Shazam! Fury of the Gods. In an interview with GamesRadar, Sandberg opened up about his experience working on the sequel to Shazam!, which led him to step away from IP-driven films.
The director shared that after the film’s release, he received intense criticism and even death threats from fans. Reflecting on the experience, Sandberg stated, “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.’” This negative reaction made him rethink his future in the genre.
However, the experience led Sandberg to find new excitement in a different type of project. He is currently working on the upcoming film Until Dawn, based on the 2015 video game of the same name. The director expressed his enthusiasm for the project, saying, “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.”
Unlike traditional game adaptations, Sandberg explained that Until Dawn would not attempt to directly recreate the game, but would instead maintain the essence of its core narrative and horror elements. “What I loved about the script [is] that it wasn’t trying to recreate the game. 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 added.
Starring Ella Rubin and Michael Cimino in the lead roles, Until Dawn is now in theaters and is garnering attention for its unique blend of time-loop mechanics and horror.
Sandberg’s decision to step away from IP-based projects is a significant shift for the director, who made his name with horror hits like Lights Out. However, he is clearly excited about the fresh direction his career is taking with Until Dawn.