I have been a Stephen King fan since I was an angsty 14-year-old who didn’t want to go on a vacation with my mom, brother, sister, and new stepdad. The room I was in of the cabin we’d rented had a bookshelf. On that bookshelf was a ridiculously thick book. On the spine, the words: The Stand.
I spent every moment we were in the cabin holed up in that bedroom, ignoring my family, reading that story. I had to finish before we left, because I was pretty sure my mom wasn’t gonna buy it for me. And that’s a long freaking book! That version of The Stand clocked in at just over 800 pages.
My 30-year-old, battered copy of Different Seasons. And one of the 4 shelves of Stephen King books. Almost all of the titles on this shelf have been adapted!
I did manage to finish the book before we left (being an angsty teen helped) and I was hooked. The next year, my best friend’s family took me on vacation with them (which I enjoyed a lot more, not being my family, of course) and bought me my first King book, Different Seasons, a short story collection from which came three film adaptations: Apt Pupil, Stand By Me, and The Shawshank Redemption.
I still have that exact copy of Different Seasons.
And now I have four shelves more of Stephen King’s work.
With the release of The Dark Tower and the It remake last year, the television adaptations of Gerald’s Game, The Mist, and 11.22.63, there is what seems like a sudden onslaught of King adaptations coming. So very many that I am breaking this up into two posts. This month’s column will focus on movies and next month’s will focus on television shows. Yes, there are that many!
Two of my 4 SK bookshelves. Of the books on these shelves, over a dozen of them have already been adapted!
We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get started! We’re going to go from most definite to those that aren’t quite as definite. I’m actually going to leave off those works which seem to be a long shot, because there are many of King’s works that have been in developmental limbo for a very long time (read: many, many years) and I don’t think we need to waste space on them.
Definitely On
It: Part Two
Since Part One came out last year, it’s only fitting to begin with It: Part Two, which focuses on the novel’s grown up storyline. If you’ve read the book (and if you haven’t, you probably already know this from general descriptions of the movies), you know that it’s a framed story set with the adult characters as the frame and the story about what happened in the past, with the kids, as the interior story. In the recent movie, we only got the kids. In Part Two, we’ll be getting the adults.
Andy Muschietti is returning as Part Two’s director, and Gary Dauberman will be returning as well as screenwriter. The official release date is September 2019.
The only serious casting rumor we have as of this writing, aside from Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise and the original Part One kids for flashbacks, is Jessica Chastain as Beverly Marsh. It hasn’t been confirmed, but it seems pretty solid, as Jessica is close friends with the director and his wife and has been very adamant that she’s interested in playing Bev.
Even if we don’t have an official cast yet, we can always dream, right? Check out this fan-made concept trailer complete with dream cast. It’s freaking amazing!
Pet Sematary
The original film adaptation of Pet Sematary came out in 1989 and, with a tentative release date of April 2019, it looks like we’ll have it as a 30 year anniversary present!
It’s set to be directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes). There’s a rumor that filming is set to begin in Toronto in May, but there hasn’t been any casting announcement as yet. While May would seem to be on par with having an April 2019 release date, it seems a bit premature if no casting has been announced. So keep an eye out for that news.
Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep is King’s 2013 novel that reunites the Constant Reader with Danny Torrence, the boy from The Shining, who now in his 40s, struggles with the same demons his father did — alcoholism and rage.
The film, which will be released by Warner Bros, will be directed by Mike Flanagan (Oculus). Flanagan isn’t a stranger to King’s work, as he also directed the adaptation of King’s novel Gerald’s Game for Netflix.
There’s no release date or casting info out there yet, but with the incredible success of It, Warner Bros seems to be putting the film on the fast track.
This is still on my To Be Read pile, so I’d better get on it!
Might Happen
Suffer the Little Children – Announced in September 2017, the film adaptation of King’s short story (originally published in Cavalier Magazine in 1972 and later collected in Nightmares & Dreamscapes) seems like it might be on a fast track. Sean Carter is slated to write and direct, and there is a full roster of producers (Craig Flores, Nicolas Chartier, and Sriram Das). It feels as if it came together quickly, but, like many of the titles on this list, there doesn’t seem to be any casting information available at this time, so we will have to wait and see.
Firestarter – There was a big announcement last April at the Overlook Film Festival about a new adaptation of King’s 1980 novel about an 8-year-old girl with the ability to, well, start fires. There was an adaptation in 1984 which starred Drew Barrymore as the main character. Unfortunately, there’s been no other news since that initial announcement, so exactly where this film is in the process is a mystery. Perhaps with the current successes of King’s other projects, it might get going again.
Drunken Fireworks – This adaptation was announced back in 2016, but there doesn’t seem to be any forward motion on it currently. James Franco was set to star. You might remember him from his role in 11.22.63, the JJ Abrams adaptation of King’s novel, that was released on Hulu in 2016. Drunken Fireworks is based on a King short story that was initially released in 2015 as an audiobook.
The Overlook Hotel – In 2015, this project was announced as a prequel to The Shining which would show the hotel’s origin story. It seems to have a director in Mark Romanel and a producer, James Vanderbilt, as well as screenwriter Glen Mazzara, but there’s been no forward motion on it, as far as I’ve been able to find. I’m kind of bummed, actually.
The Talisman – Last fall, Amblin Entertainment announced that Josh Boone (Fault in Our Stars, New Mutants) will direct their upcoming adaptation of the Stephen King/Peter Straub novel The Talisman. Producers have been announced (Frank Marshall, Michael Wright – executive), but very little additional news has been forthcoming. It might be because Boone is currently working on a ten-hour television adaptation of The Stand for CBS (more on that next month!).
Hearts – There’s a lot of confusion about Hearts in Atlantis. Many people think it’s a novel, but it’s actually an anthology collecting a couple novellas and a few short stories, all connected. In 2001, two of those short stories, “Low Men in Yellow Coats” and “Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling” (incidentally the first and last in the collection) were adapted into a movie that was named Hearts in Atlantis. So, with that knowledge, a film, simply called Hearts, based on the actual short story for which the anthology was named, is apparently in development. That was announced in late 2016, though, with no additional information since, so we will see if it pans out.
In the Tall Grass – Another one that was announced a few years ago without any further details since. “In the Tall Grass” is a novella co-written by King and his son, Joe Hill. Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice, and the television show, Hannibal) both adapted the screenplay and is set to direct the film. This strikes me as a little big of a mashup between Children of the Corn and “The Mist,” so I’d really love to see this one get going!
The Jaunt – Based on the scifi horror short story of the same name (first published in Twilight Zone Magazine and later collected in King’s Skeleton Crew anthology), The Jaunt was announced in 2015 and, you guessed it, hasn’t had much traction since. However, It director Andy Muschietti was slated to direct, so with the success of It, perhaps this one will get off the ground, though obviously after It: Part Two comes out.
Revival – This is another project with Josh Boone’s name on it, but there hasn’t been much new information since May 2017. We know that the screenplay has already been written by Boone (with a thumbs-up from Stephen King himself), that Michael De Luca was set to produce, that the screenplay was submitted to Universal (who have first-look rights), and that at different times both Samuel L. Jackson and Russell Crowe were attached to the film. Boone’s plan was to complete Revival before working the The Stand, but, again, there’s been radio silence on the adaptation of this 2014 novel.
Rose Madder – In autumn 2017, Bread & Circuses Entertainment announced Assaf Bernstein (television’s Fauda) as director for the adaptation of King’s 1995 novel about an abused wife trying to escape her husband. As with most of the others on this part of the list, there have been no casting decisions announced and no additional information available.
Whew! There you have it. Now, this is not an exhaustive list. There are probably about a dozen other movie projects in developmental hell right now and if you go tooling around on Google, you can find them.
Next month, we’ll tackle the television adaptations. Be sure to check back!
What do you think of the movies above? Are there any Definites that you’re looking forward to? Any of the Maybes you hope (or hope not) to be produced? Drop a note below!
Unless attributed otherwise, all images are courtesy of Stephen King.
There’s officially a trailer for Pet Sematary!