6 Ways Until Dawn Sets Up Future Movies & Video Games For The Franchise

The following contains spoilers for Until Dawn, now playing in theatersUntil Dawn‘s ending leaves the door open for plenty of potential follow-ups. The adaptation of the PlayStation game of the same name, Until Dawn is a love letter to the horror genre that forces five teenagers into a cycle of death and rebirth at the hands of masked killers, vicious wendigo, and even exploding water. Until Dawn‘s characters manage to circumvent typical tropes of the genre in clever ways, making them compelling leads for a horror film.

Together, the five are actually able to make it out of the night and survive the events of Until Dawn‘s ending. This leads to a fairly satisfying ending for the character as they drive off to safety, but the film makes sure to tease a potential future direction that the franchise could go. There are actually plenty of ways to build on the lore and revelations introduced in 2025’s Until Dawn, whether that’s a straight adaptation of the original game, a continuation that focuses on another Supermassive horror game, or even a return to that digital space for a follow-up.

6

Until Dawn Has A Conclusive Ending But Sets Up Follow-Ups

Clover And Her Friends Could Easily Return For Another Story

Belmont Cameli & Until Dawn cast with flashlights in the dark, as all look afraid

Until Dawn‘s ending offers a conclusive climax for the central five characters, but the film lays the seeds for plenty of potential spin-offs. Until Dawn focuses on Clover, Max, Nina, Megan, and Abe as they struggle to escape the cycle of death and rebirth that they’ve been caught within. However, a potential follow-up to Until Dawn could revisit these characters after the events of the movie, showing how they handle the lingering trauma of having been killed multiple times.

After her interactions with Hill, it’s possible that Clover might become more interested in uncovering his actions and the full scope of his “observations,” potentially positioning herself as a counter to his efforts. If Clover could spread awareness of the transformative power of fear while under the sway of whatever supernatural force is at play in the film. If the franchise were to continue growing, this could solidify Clover into an overarching heroic figure in contrast to Hill.

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Until Dawn’s New Monsters And Doomed Souls Could Carry Prequels

The Various Genre References Baked Into Until Dawn Could Each Drive Their Own Story

Several 'wanted' posters in Until Dawn

Image via Sony Pictures

One of the big reveals about Until Dawn is the way the cycles of death steadily transform the victims trapped within it. If they die thirteen times, then their horror will steadily transform them into the same monsters that have been hunting them. This is what happened to Clover’s sister Melanie, who couldn’t escape the cycle and became one of the wendigo. There are dozens of missing people from the town of Glore Valley who have been transformed, each of whom could be the focus of their own story in a sequel or anthology.

A film that expands on a previous loop and reveals the circumstances of how Hill discovered that could be a cool way to explore the rules of the Until Dawn universe…

It’s a natural jumping off point for plenty of stories, an easy way to expand on the mysterious witchy woman or the masked killer by revealing who they were and how they lost their humanity. Hill also mentions that people can escape the loop by leaving someone behind. A film that expands on a previous loop and reveals the circumstances of how Hill discovered that could be a cool way to explore the rules of the Until Dawn universe while also being a naturally dramatic exploration of prequel and horror tropes.

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A New Until Dawn Video Game Could Expand On The Movie’s Lore

Dr. Hill’s Role In Until Dawn Raises More Questions Than It Answers

Sam Giddings next to the cast of 2025's Until Dawn

Custom image by Yailin Chacon

The Until Dawn movie introduces a lot of changes to the overall lore of the videogame, which did not include a time-loop mechanic and had different rules regarding the transformation into a wendigo. This new set-up also transforms Dr. Hill, a seemingly benign hallucination in the game, into an overarching and manipulative force behind the scenes. A new Until Dawn game could try to find the happy medium between the game world and the lore introduced by the movie, putting players into the role of a new group caught in the death and rebirth cycle.

Until Dawn movie and video game

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Until Dawn’s Biggest Video Game Connection Is Something Most Movie Adaptations Wouldn’t Dream Of Doing

Until Dawn introduced its own cast of characters and game-like mechanics, instead of directly adapting the story of the iconic horror video game.

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This would fit well into the Supermassive Games approach to narrative-driven games, with the changes the characters experience after each demise impacting the story. Supermassive frequently features multiple endings for their games, which could be reflected by how effectively the characters are at escaping their potential doom. This could also be the perfect place to allow curious fans to explore the universe first-hand, discovering more about the rules of the setting and the true nature of Dr. Hill’s experiments.

3

An Until Dawn Sequel Could Fully Adapt The Original Video Game

Until Dawn’s Final Tease Sets Up A Straight Adaptation Of The Game’s Story

hourglass in Until Dawn

Image via Sony Pictures

The original Until Dawn video game has a completely different cast and setting to the film adaptation, as well as different rules regarding death and the wendigo. However, the film ends with the implication that the events of the game are set in the same universe as the film, with Dr. Hill’s camera feeds shifting to a cabin in the snowy mountains setting up that story. A more faithful adaptation of the game could easily be the focus of a prospective sequel.

A sequel could be focused on finding ways to better connect the world present in the game with the lore revealed from the movie. While it might be hard to recruit the full cast from the game (which included Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere as major characters), the fleshed-out cast from that title could easily translate to a new film. The enhanced focus on the wendigo for that story would also build off some of the best scares in the first film.

Adapting the video game’s plotline, especially in light of revelations from the movie, could also leave room to explore the manipulations of Dr. Hill against people like Josh as a central storyline. This could be the key to fully establishing the rules surrounding the character and his influence on others. Building off the events of the first film by doing a straight adaptation of the original game could also appease fans of that title who were disappointed with the movie’s story.

2

The Quarry Could Continue Until Dawn’s Overarching Themes

Eliza Vorez Would Be A Great Character To Bring To The Big Screen

Clover (Ella Rubin) grows a claw from her cheek in Until Dawn

Image via Sony Pictures

Supermassive Games has produced plenty of narrative-driven video games over the last decade, with plenty of engaging horror games like The Quarry that could carry their own adaptation. The latter could actually make for a pretty great follow-up to Until Dawn, even potentially being set in the same universe. The game focuses on a group of summer camp counselors who find themselves contending with a family of ruthless hunters and their prey — werewolves.

Supermassive has released several horror games, including Until Dawn, Dark Pictures Anthology, the Little Nightmares series, The Quarry, and The Casting Of Frank Stone.

That game’s blend of supernatural manipulators and teen drama would be a fitting follow-up to the tone established in Until Dawn. That game’s mysterious figure, Eliza Vorez, could be introduced as someone connected (or at least more aware of) the cycle of death and resurrection, potentially even being given a direct tie to Dr. Hill. An adaptation of The Quarry could also work as a stand-alone horror movie that primarily serves as a way to establish the wider universe of Until Dawn instead of directly continuing the plotlines from that film.

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A Deeper Dive Into Hill & Until Dawn’s World Could Be A Great Sequel

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The world of Until Dawn is expanded in some exciting ways by the film, including the implied supernatural nature of Dr. Hill. A sequel could explore more about the character’s origins and motivations, revealing how he became obsessed with fear and why he’s so committed to studying it. It could also do a good job of explaining how Hill could appear to Josh in the plot of the videogame despite his apparent death in the film, which is teased in Until Dawn‘s ending by having his whistle score the revelation of a snowy cabin in the mountains.

A huge lingering question about Until Dawn are the mysterious giants that appear in the forest when Abe and Nina try to escape the house on their second cycle of the loop. That creature is foreboding but ultimately not a threat, as its presence merely forces Abe to return to the house. It would be fascinating to learn more about these creatures and how they’re connected to the cycle, as well as what created them in the first place. Until Dawn lays the groundwork for a lot of potential sequels that could take the franchise in plenty of exciting directions.

Until Dawn 2025 Film Poster

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Until Dawn

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6.7/10

Release Date

April 25, 2025

Runtime

103 Minutes

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  • Headshot Of Ella Rubin

    Ella Rubin

    Clover

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    Michael Cimino

    Max

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