Stephen King is as popular as ever. Let’s be honest, the man IS the king of written horror. Fans will be happy to learn there are several new films and series adaptations headed their way and we’ve got a list.
Salem’s Lot
A new adaptation of King’sSalem’s Lotis is on its way from horror legend James Wan who is producing the film written, directed, and executive produced by Gary Dauberman (It, Annabelle Comes Home, The Nun).
Lewis Pullman (The Strangers: Prey at Night) will be starring as author Ben Mears who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot seeking inspiration for his next book only to find his hometown is being preyed upon by a vampire. Together with a ragtag group of residents, he sets out to fight the monster.
Zac Efron (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, The Greatest Showman), Michael Greyeyes (Wild Indian, Rutherford Falls, True Detective), Sydney Lemmon (Helstrom, Succession, Gloria Reuben (City on a Hill, Mr. Robot), and Ryan Kiera Armstrong (“American Horror Story”, The Tomorrow War, It: Chapter II) star.
Firestarter opens in theaters and will stream exclusively on Peacock beginning May 13, 2022.
The Jaunt
Based on King’s short story from the Skeleton Crew, Jaunt is set in the future and follows a family preparing to teleport.
Set to be adapted once before, this series is co-created “Fear the Walking Dead’s” Dave Erickson for MRC Television.
Talk about a killer ride. Set in the 1950s, the story follows a geek who rebuilds a 1958 Plymouth Fury only to find out it will have deadly consequences.
Sony and Blumhouse have teamed up to bring the deadly car back to life for a new series written and directed by Bryan Fuller (TV’s “Hannibal”). Vincenzo Natali (Cube, In the Tall Grass) is producing.
One of the films set to be released is The Boogeyman, which King penned nearly fifty years ago as part of his Night Shift Collection.
The Hulu feature film has now entered production and is being directed by Rob Savage, with “Yellowjackets” actress Sophie Thatcher (pictured), starring alongside Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Bair, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland, and Madison Hu.
The story “follows a 16-year old and her younger sister, still reeling from the death of their mother, who is targeted by a supernatural boogeyman after their father, a psychologist, has an encounter with a desperate patient in their house.”
Blumhouse is behind a new series adaptation of King’s bestseller Later, which was released in 2021.
The cast for the limited series already includes Lucy Liu (Kill Bill) and “True Blood’s” Raelle Tucker who also created the series and wrote the first season.
The story centers on “The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep a secret. Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.”
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is from 2020’s short story collection If It Bleeds and centers on a young boy who bonds with a billionaire. When the older man dies, he’s buried with a phone. It’s not long before the boy starts to receive voice mails from the man in the grave.
Ryan Murphy is teaming up with Jason Blum to produce the adaptation for Netflix, with John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) writing and directing.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone will premiere sometime in 2022 on Netflix. We’ll keep you posted.
Pet Sematary (prequel)
The new film, inspired by King’s classic, will serve as a prequel to the novel as well as the original movie and will reportedly center on Jud as a young man.
Lindsey Beer will be making her feature directorial debut and co-wrote the script with Jeff Buhler. Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, Pam Grier, and Jack Mulhern star.
The Institute
The Institute is one of King’s most recently released novels and centers on a group of psychic children who have been kidnapped and are forced to live in a government-funded institution that conducts painful and dangerous tests on them.
The day the novel was released in 2019 it was announced that David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies) and Jack Bender (Lost) got the rights for a television series.
Written by King and Peter Straub, The Talisman follows a young boy named Jack who begins a hero’s journey to find a magical relic that can save his dying mother. Along the way, he learns that the talisman is also capable of saving the entire world. Adapted for a Netflix series, The Talisman is from Steven Spielberg and The Duffer Brothers (“Stranger Things”).
The Long Walk Home
Set in a dystopian future, an annual event known as “The Long Walk” sees 100 teen boys compete to the death. Break a rule and you’ll be shot dead. The last one standing gets whatever wish they want to be granted for the rest of their lives.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director André Øvredal is set to direct. James Vanderbilt penned the script and will produce with Bradley Fischer and William Sherak.
Newly Released Adaptations
Chapelwaite
Based on King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot, this series, which we called the “best new show of the year” in our review follows a family who moves into their ancestral home only to learn that the townspeople fear and hate their family. Soon, a dark truth is discovered forcing the family to fight for their lives, the lives of the town’s residents, and the world.
Starring Academy Award winner Adrien Brody, the series is now available on Epix.
Lisey’s Story
Academy Award-winner Julianne Moore and Academy Award nominee Clive Owen star in the eight-episode Apple Original that’s out now.