Blumhouse and Atomic Monster founder and CEO James Wan have officially announced that a live-action Dead By Daylight movie is in the early stages of production. The multiplayer survival game, which launched in 2016, comes from the Canadian indie game developers Behaviour Interactive, the studio that also brought us Meet Your Maker, Project S and Game of Thrones Beyond the Wall. In Dead By Daylight, one player adopts the role of the Killer, while the other four spawn as Survivors, each with their own unique skillset. The Killer’s objective is to impale all four Survivors on sacrificial hooks to appease an otherworldly force known as The Entity. Meanwhile, the Survivors must repair five generators scattered across the trial map to power the exit gates and escape unscathed. Ability slots known as Perks aid both Survivors and Killers in achieving their respective goals.
Both Jason Blum and James Wan have expressed their excitement in the wake of the long-awaited communiqué, mentioning how Behaviour Interactive have created “a love letter to horror” and “it’s imperative we find someone who appreciates and loves the world as much as we do.” As Blumhouse, Behaviour and Atomic Monster continue the search for an ideal director and screenwriter, We Got This Covered has taken the liberty of assembling our own version of a prospective Dead By Daylight cast. Call us, Blumhouse. We’ll talk.
Meg Thomas – Sadie Sink
It wouldn’t be Dead By Daylight without Meg Thomas, the energetic athlete. Thomas was a member of the Survivor quartet featured in the game’s launch trailer, so she’s effectively DBD‘s mascot, which means casting her correctly is paramount to the success of Blumhouse’s adaptation. They’ll be a lot of enraged fans if Meg Thomas isn’t treated with the utmost care and consideration during the casting process, so let’s avoid the upheaval altogether by suggesting Sadie Sink, who’s slowly integrating herself into the realm of horror. Sink rose to international prominence for her role as Max Mayfield in Netflix’s Stranger Things, but it wasn’t until 2021 that she truly dipped her toe into the cesspool of horror, starring as Ziggy Berman in the Fear Street trilogy. She’s got the fiery auburn hair and the baby-blue eyes to match, besides proving that she can tackle a main role with effortless ease.
Dwight Fairfield – Dylan O’Brien
He never had the charisma necessary to “fit in” at school, so after graduation, Dwight took an internship at Peak 22, a writing company. When an altercation with the management led to Dwight being transported to the Entity’s realm, he found other like-minded Survivors, as well as the courage to lead them to salvation. If Meg Thomas is DBD‘s female mascot, then Dwight is the male equivalent. Another crucial casting choice for Blumhouse to make, especially as Dwight is another OG Survivor who’s adored throughout the fanbase. Dylan O’Brien will be known to countless Teen Wolf fans as Stiles Stilinski, but others might recognize him as Thomas in the Maze Runner trilogy. He’s got the acting chops to boast, but does it get better than that? Yes, it does. O’Brien even starred opposite Sadie Sink — our Meg Thomas — in Taylor Swift’s short film All Too Well, which won the songstress several accolades at the MTV Video Music Awards, The Grammys, and more. He does resemble Dwight, doesn’t he?
Claudette Morel – Sonequa Martin-Green
Claudette Morel is the studious botanist and dependable healer, using her aptitude for botany to keep her fellow Survivors in tip-top shape. She utilizes her vast knowledge of herbs and greenery to collect potent plants and craft tinctures. Like Meg and Dwight, she’s another character worth dedicating the extra time to developing, especially since the stereotypical formula of horror requires a knowledgeable healer, so where would our do-gooders be without Claudette? And we might have found the ideal candidate. There’s several roles from which one might know Sonequa Martin-Green from, but namely Star Trek: Discovery and The Walking Dead, portraying Michael Burnham and Sasha Williams, respectively. She also had a recurring role as Tamara in ABC’s One Upon a Time, acting opposite Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla and Josh Dallas. Martin-Green’s schedule is also clear, given that her last acting role was Kamiyah James in Space Jam: A New Legacy, so that’s a promising omen.
William “Bill” Overbeck – Stephen Lang
The hardened veteran, William “Bill” Overbeck originated from the zombie shoot-’em-up game Left 4 Dead, and Behaviour introduced him in CHAPTER 3.5: Left Behind. Bill’s not afraid to take one for the team if it ensures his fellow Survivors a safe escape; he knows that survival and sacrifice go hand-in-hand. He isn’t the most approachable, but he’s handy in dire situations. While it’s true that 70-year-old Stephen Lang might be close to retiring from acting altogether, he’s our Bill — no doubt about it. His only other contender would be Jeff Bridges, who’s even older, so there isn’t many fish in this pond to choose from. That being said, Lang is a phenomenal actor in his own right; he received endless praise for his breakout horror role in Don’t Breathe from Fede Álvarez, the director of 2013’s reimagining of Evil Dead. His performance as Norman Nordstorm, a blind veteran whose Detroit home is invaded by thieves, earned him the Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor.
David King – Jon Bernthal
Considering that Behaviour announced David King as Dead By Daylight‘s first openly gay character, there’s a lot riding on his casting to get Blumhouse into the LGBTQ+ community’s good graces. Before finding himself in the Entity’s realm, David displayed anti-social behavior and an indomitable will, which ultimately aided him in bolstering the other Survivors’ chances against the Killers. He has a scrappy temperament, but he’s reliable in a crisis. Many would acknowledge our David, Jon Bernthal, as the central anti-hero in Netflix’s The Punisher, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Ultimately, the series was canceled, along with all the other Marvel-Netflix ventures, but we’re expecting Bernthal to reprise his role as Frank Castle in the ever-growing MCU some time soon. Besides the Marvel universe, Bernthal also had a turn as Shane Walsh in The Walking Dead, so he and our Claudette are already on the same wavelength, despite appearing in different seasons.
Jake Park – Song Joong-ki
Rounding out our original Survivor quartet, Jake Park is a Korean solitary survivalist. He relies on his wits and resourcefulness to outsmart and overpower the Killers. He survives by any makeshift way possible, utilizing his environment to outlast the opponent and become one with nature to survive more effectively while injured. Jake dropped out of school once the pressure had intensified, much to the dismay of his father and the pity of his successful and academic brother. We nominate Song Joong-ki —who rose to fame with the coming-of-age drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) — as our Jake Park. The South Korean actor has a diverse filmography, namely establishing himself as a worthwhile performer in the hit films A Werewolf Boy, The Battleship Island, and Space Sweepers. He’s also hosted several years worth of Mnet Asian Music Awards, starting in 2012 and ending with 2021. Just cover him in from head to toe in fake tattoos and there’s our Jake.
Feng Min – Lana Condor
Avid gamer and esports competitor Feng Min developed a profound love for computer games as a child. From a young age, she was instantly hooked. Her parents refused to see her potential for a future in gaming, so they forced her to focus on her studies. Eventually, she left home and spent her time in internet cafes, streaming and competing. Although she became the black sheep of the family, she found a sense of belonging in a prestigious esports team, where she earned herself the nickname the “Shining Lion.” Our Feng Min is none other than Lana Condor, whom Marvel fans will know as Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse. The romance-drama lovers among us are familiar with Condor from the To All the Boys film series, wherein she portrays Lara Jean Covey. Condor would have to consider getting either a bob haircut or a synthetic wig, but she’d surely sacrifice a few inches of hair for the role of a lifetime.
The Trapper – Kane Hodder
Evan MacMillan, known to Survivors as The Trapper, was a member of the original Killer trio with The Wraith and The Hillbilly. Evan was the perpetrator of a grueling mass murder, killing hundreds of men with explosives in the name of Archie MacMillain, his father, whom the greedy hordes wished to rob of his fortune. Kane Hodder is a name that’s synonymous with the horror genre. Avid gorehounds will be well-acquainted with Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees, whom Hodder portrays on four separate occasions in Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, and Jason X. Hodder even provided the motion capture for the notorious slasher antagonist in Friday the 13th: The Game. Aside from Jason, he’s also credited as the stunt artist behind Leatherface in Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and he’s recently suited up for another motion capture performance as Leatherface in the upcoming The Texas Chain Saw Massacre video game. He’s no stranger to the slasher game, so therein lies an opportunity ripe for the taking.
The Huntress – Gwendoline Christie
Introduced alongside David King in CHAPTER 5: A Lullaby for the Dark, Huntress (real name Anna — just Anna) is a ranged Killer armed with throwable hunting hatchets who acts as a deadly threat to Survivors even at long range. As the name implies, Huntress utilizes hunting techniques to track and zone in on her prey, applying pressure to Survivors by taking advantage of environmental awareness and getting close enough to make the kill. Having lost her mother to a murderous elk as a child, the Huntress knew loss and depravity from the earliest stages of life, the subsequent devastation of which transformed her into heartless and bloodthirsty predator. If you’re not convinced on Christie as The Huntress, all it’ll take to change your mind is a splash of hair dye. Christie is a top-notch actress; she’s appeared in Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. More recently, she joined Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s ultra-popular spin-off series Wednesday and Tom Sturridge in Netflix’s The Sandman. She’s a seasoned veteran at embodying despicable villains, so The Huntress is her next challenge.
The Blight – David Tennant
What a fitting name, Talbot Grimes, for such a nightmarish figure as The Blight. Consider him Dead By Daylight‘s own Scarecrow from the DC universe. Grimes is a gifted chemist hailing from Scotland, but although he sought to help humanity with toxins and cures, his reckless experiments ultimately and unintentionally cost the lives of many. It was a near-death experience with a poisonous foxglove that set Grimes on the path of chemistry, fueling his fascination for deadly flora. His greatest achievement resulted in several workers turning feral and massacring one another. Grimes was abducted and beaten within an inch of his life by sickly man — an experience that prompted his downward spiral into becoming The Blight. Although his glowing reputation as the tenth incarnation of Doctor Who‘s lead character, David Tennant is accustomed to playing the villain, as we’ve seen from him in Marvel’s Jessica Jones, wherein he portrays the nefarious and manipulative Kilgrave. We never see Blight’s true face, so he’s a difficult one to cast, but besides looks and as far as boundless talent, Tennant is the right man for the job.
The Wraith – Javier Botet
Appearing and disappearing on command at the sound of a dreaded bell, Dead By Daylight‘s Philip Ojomo — otherwise known as The Wraith — is one of the game’s most-played Killers. The Wraith was originally a Nigerian immigrant working as a mechanic for Autohaven Wreckers, but Ojomo discovered that inside the cars he willingly crushed, there were bound and gagged victims. He would come to find out that the management were using Autohaven Wreckers as a front for murderous intent and Ojomo had been a unwitting executioner and participant in the crimes. He suffered severe psychological trauma from the guilt he was riddled with, resulting in a breakdown that led Ojomo to kill his boss and vanish, later working for The Entity as The Wraith. Now, Javier Botet isn’t your average, everyday actor; he specializes in creature features, specifically Slender Man, Mama and REC, often appearing as freakishly tall, disproportionate entities. Given The Wraith’s imposing height and lanky frame, Botet would be a fitting choice.
The Legion – Cameron Monaghan / Mikey Madison
Comprised of Frank, Julie, Susie, and Joey, The Legion is not one singular force, but rather four individuals that together form a close-knit group of murderers. What do they have in common? Inflicting pain in extreme measures, particularly using their combined power, Feral Frenzy, which can set off a chain reaction of injured Survivors. All four members of The Legion would hang out in a lodge on Mount Ormond, where Frank saw potential in their union, eventually forming the quartet of savages. All four of them don masks, concealing their identities and eliminating the barrier of morality and accountability that would otherwise hold them back. We haven’t cast all members of The Legion here, only Frank and Susie, who seem to win the popularity contest over Julie and Joey. You’ll know Cameron Monaghan as Gotham‘s Joker, so there’s your perfect Frank. And Madison made waves as one of the Ghostface killers in Scream (2022), so there’s your Susie to match.
The Doctor – Chiwetel Ejiofor
You’d think that someone with the name Herman wouldn’t have a threatening bone in their body, but when Herman Carter transforms into The Doctor, he’s far more formidable than your average dentist (but they’re scary too). Carter was always fascinated by the human psyche, excelling in high school and finding a passion for neuroscience. He became an associate of the CIA, recruited for “experimental interrogation” that was masked under the false pretense of electroshock therapy. From there, Carter descended into madness, often killing prisoners outright once he had extracted information from them, earning himself the nickname The Doctor. Disney fanatics will be familiar with Chiwetel Eijofor’s voice as Scar in 2019’s The Lion King remake, but moviegoers will be further enlightened to recall that Eijofor has appeared in the likes of 12 Years a Slave, The Martian and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Ah, madness. Get it? It’s fate.
The Clown – Cameron Britton
Kenneth Chase doesn’t sound quite as foreboding as The Clown, now does it? Chase was born into a poor, working-class family and his father was a habitual drunkard. When he was young, he caught a robin in homemade trap planted on the bird feeder, which he planned to release once the anaesthesia had worn off, but as the bird’s life lay mercilessly in his hands, Chase tightened his grip, stripping the robin of his last breath. Over the next decade, he would join a circus and become known as The Clown, a murderous jokester who would render victims unconscious and torture them in his trailer, cutting off a finger from each and starting a collection. He removed the clown costume less and less, shedding his old sense of self with it. American actor Cameron Britton gained recognition as Ed Kemper in the Netflix crime-drama series Mindhunter and even guest-starred in The Umbrella Academy, but he’s yet to have a role that would elevate his career — and this could be an opportunity come knocking.
That’s our line-up for Blumhouse’s Dead By Daylight adaptation. Do you agree? We’ll find out who lands these coveted roles in the months to come.
