Author Joe Hill, who has clearly inherited some of his father’s (Stephen King) talent, is stepping back into the genre. He is reuniting with Scott Derrickson, who brought us The Black Phone. The two are working on a screenplay for Sony Screen Gems. The script is based on one of Hill’s unpublished novellas; however, the title hasn’t been revealed.
Speaking to Mashable, Hill said, “The script I’m working on now is an adaptation of an unpublished novella that I’d written that will be published eventually,” Hill shared.
Scott Derrickson proved instrumental in securing the deal. Hill pitched the novella and an adaptation plan to Derrickson, who immediately embraced the idea.
“I sent him this novella I had written that hadn’t been published and a pitch for how I’d adapt it, and he got psyched. And he’s like, ‘We gotta do this.’ And so he got me the gig to write the script. Now I’m revising it for Sony Screen Gems.”
Hill plans to maintain this pace, setting a goal to write a new screenplay and a new novel every year. He also noted that his next two projects will be adaptations. However, they are from other authors’ work, which he is equally excited about.
In addition to the Screen Gems project, Hill told Mashable that his latest novel, King Sorrow, is already being developed for television. King Sorrow, published last month, is described as a chilling tale involving modern-world dangers, dark academia, and the brutal consequences of revenge.
The story centers on six friends at Rackham College in Maine. They try to free one of their own from a disastrous crime. Desperate, they use the unnerving Crane journal to summon a dragon named King Sorrow to do their bidding. The friends soon find their pact to save Arthur becomes a terrifying annual bargain, forcing them to choose a new human sacrifice every year—or become the dragon’s next meal.
Hill’s already made quite an impression on the genre, creating stories that became movies like Horns, Abraham’s Sons, and The Black Phone, which spawned a sequel. There are also series like “Locke & Key.” Needless to say, we look forward to seeing what he creates next.
