Dead by Daylight: The Ringu Chapter Was To Have Two Survivor As Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons Chapters

In December 2021 it was announced that Ringu (The Ring) was coming to Dead by Daylight. For those who do not know, Ringu is a 1998 Japanese film to which an American remake was then made a few years later that was called The Ring, ruining some of the original material as the story was lengthened by adding boring details that are not present in the original film, and in fact making it less scary than the 1998 Japanese film.

The arrival of Sadako Yamamura within Dead by Daylight was anticipated by a press release:

"Ringu Is Coming to Dead by Daylight A key piece of horror history is joining Dead by Daylight’s expansive roster. Prepare for Ringu to spread its curse across The Fog, with a new Chapter inspired by Kōji Suzuki’s novel and the original acclaimed film adaptation.

Kōji Suzuki’s Ring, originally published in 1991, began the haunting story of a spreading curse and its doomed victims. In 1998, the novel was adapted into a Japanese feature film of the same name (widely known as Ringu to North American audiences) instantly adding a new presence into the pantheon of cinematic horror icons. The premise alone is chilling. A video that, upon viewing, promises death in seven days. A disturbing fate, worsened by the contorted faces of the victims. The global influence of this Japanese franchise remains undeniable, and we’re thrilled to celebrate its induction into the horror Hall of Fame that is Dead by Daylight.

“We are very excited for the collaboration with Behaviour Interactive and the Dead by Daylight team,” says Kadokawa producer Reiko Imayasu. “We’ll be sending one of our most haunting characters to the Fog to pour down horrors that will rival all the great predecessors. Fans should beware of their heart; this deadly newcomer will definitely strike them, and they will tremble with fear whilst they wait.”

Ringu introduced images that have long haunted horror fans, fuelling the nightmares of audiences across the world. Many can surely recall those nights reading the novel or watching its adaptation, where a ringing telephone was swiftly followed by a wave of icy terror. And if the television happened to flicker... Suffice it to say, stepping into the eerie and melancholic world of Ringu opens the door for countless exciting possibilities.

Alas, you'll have to wait a little longer than seven days for more info on Dead by Daylight's upcoming chapter – but don’t let that stop your imagination from running wild. “Well, the only thing I can say is that this new chapter will leave a mark,” teases Creative Director Dave Richards. “A real heart-pounding experience. Tell a friend, or else...” It goes without saying that survival won’t be easy, so be sure to hone those skills throughout the Holiday season. In the meantime, keep one eye out for Dead by Daylight’s foray into the rich world of Ringu, emerging from the well in March 2022..."

Ringu was the first collaboration announced a full three months before release; in fact, it never happened that a collaboration was announced in December and then released in March.

This then generated much anticipation, and the first speculation began, especially about the survivors.

Actually, in the end, the community was half-happy, because while there was a killer with a power that echoed much of the original one from the movie, it was a chapter released without any map and without any licensed survivors from the original movie.

And today we find out why.

The reason was in fact that Behaviour Interactive failed to acquire the likenesses of Nanano Matsushima (Reiko in the original film) and Hiroyuki Sanada (Ryuji in the original film), initially in fact the chapter was supposed to have a killer and two survivors, just like the Stranger Things chapter and the Dungeons & Dragons chapter.

They in fact said that since they could not get their likeness, probably because they did not agree to be part of Dead by Daylight or there was simply some rights issue, they were not included within the chapter, at which point they then invented adult Yoichi, and since he is not an adult in the film, they were able to include him without asking for permission to have his likeness, literally inventing a character that does not exist in the original film, thus changing his age.

Although this statement conflicts somewhat with what happened with Ellen Ripley recently, and also with Laurie Strode and Quentin Smith, i.e., three characters released within the game without having permissions from the original actors to be able to use their likenesses (although for example Jamie Lee Curtis who plays Laurie Strode in the Halloween saga has always stated that if they had asked her she would have accepted without any problem, although at the time the game was largely run by Starbreeze, so maybe the latter just wanted to spend the money on Michael Myers and nothing else, however Alien is a very recent chapter, so who knows why in that case the survivor was released equally without the resemblance to the original actress).

Would you have liked to have had those two survivors for the Ringu Chapter?

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