
After the backlash of 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods,' director David F. Sandberg found himself contemplating a break from the pressure-laden world of IP-based movies.
- Apr 28, 2025
AceShowbiz - David F. Sandberg, who directed "Shazam!" in 2019 and its 2023 sequel, voiced his exhaustion with the superhero genre, attributing much of his disillusionment to the fervent and often hostile fanbase.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, Sandberg revealed, "I mean, to be honest, fans can get very, very crazy and very angry with you. You can get 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.' "
His pivot away from superhero films is not entirely unforeseen. Post "Shazam!" Sandberg remarked to The Hollywood Reporter, "I started my Shazam journey right after Annabelle: Creation in 2017, and so it's been quite a few years of just Shazam. So I'm very ready to move on and go back to horror and just try some other things."
This inclination has now culminated in his latest venture, "Until Dawn," an adaptation from the 2015 survival horror game of the same name.
"Until Dawn" marks a return to Sandberg's roots in horror, a genre that first brought him recognition. The project proved to be challenging but deeply fulfilling for the director.
"It was very hard to make this movie, and it was a very ambitious movie for the time and the money we had," Sandberg shared with THR. "But I was so eager to do horror again, and this was a dream come true in that I got to do lots of full-on R-rated kills and gore and special effects and special makeup and monsters."
Despite the complexities involved, Sandberg feels invigorated by the work. "I've been wanting to do all of these things since I was a little kid. So that was very welcomed, but it was a challenge."
Evidently, the allure of returning to horror was too potent to resist, leading Sandberg to reconsider his stance on IP-based projects.
Whether it serves as a refuge from the high-stakes world of superhero franchises or simply a passion project, "Until Dawn" stands testament to Sandberg's versatility and dedication to his craft.