In a career that spans over four decades, Stephen King has had countless successes not just in the world of literature, but also in film, TV, and various other mediums. Adding to that success, 2017 could prove to be one of the author’s biggest year, with multiple films and TV series all being released that were inspired by his works.
In June, The Mist debuted on Spike, which is based on one of King’s short stories. The series chronicles the residents of a small town dealing with a mysterious fog that descends upon their community, forcing various groups of survivors to hole up with unlikely neighbors in order to survive. Another TV series based on King’s work, Mr. Mercedes, will debut next month, featuring a retired detective being tormented by a sadistic killer, airing on AT&T’s Audience Network.
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On the big screen, The Dark Tower debuts in theaters on August 4. Based on King’s series of eight books, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) must stop the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey) from bringing down the Dark Tower and wreaking havoc in multiple worlds. On September 8, the latest adaptation of his novel It will land in theaters, showcasing a group of kids fighting the evil force Pennywise, who takes the image of a terrifying clown.
In case these aren’t enough Stephen King projects to satiate you, scroll down to see which of the author’s projects are currently in development that we could be seeing in the near future!
Rose Madder – Film
According to Deadline, director Assaf Bernstein is attached to adapt the 1995 King novel, which was part of a trilogy of books all focusing on abused women. Another novel, Dolores Claiborne, was made into a film starring Kathy Bates while the third book, Gerald’s Game, is being adapted for Netflix currently.
In the novel, the battered wife of a small town cop flees the city in hopes of leaving that life behind her, only to find out that the cop will kill anyone that stands between him and her or comes to her assistance.
The director revealed, “Stephen King’s literary universe has greatly influenced me as a writer and filmmaker, and Rose Madder is a terrifying and exhilarating thriller that will make for a compelling parable of the battle between the sexes. Rose and Norman undergo a fascinating transformation, sometimes horrifying, at other times touching, and occasionally both at the same time. Rose is a once-in-a-lifetime role for an actress.”
It Sequel – Film
With the first part of the two-part adaptation hitting theaters in September, what does that mean for the sequel? Although there’s no confirmed timeline of when production could begin, director Andy Muschietti explained to Variety, “We are doing that [two films]. We’ll probably have a script for the second part in January. Ideally, we would start prep in March. Part one is only about the kids. Part two is about these characters 30 years later as adults, with flashbacks to 1989 when they were kids.”
The first film began shooting in June of 2016 and will be getting a September 2017 release date. If the second half of the adaptation begins shooting in the summer of 2018, we could probably expect the film to be released in September of 2019.
The source novel features a group of adult characters reuniting after facing the monstrous Pennywise when they were kids, with equal amounts of scenes taking place in adulthood as when they were kids. Instead of flashbacks, the first film focuses on the younger characters entirely and the second film will portray the characters as adults.
The Shining – Theater
King’s original novel was released in 1977, only to be adapted into a feature film by Stanley Kubrick in 1980. Despite becoming a classic and often regarded as one of the best horror films of all time, King himself was unhappy with the picture, inspiring him to adapt his original story into a TV mini-series in 1997.
Tony-winning playwright Simon Stephens and Tony-winning director Ivo Van Hove are currently in the early stages of adapting the novel for a theatrical production. With the story centering on a family watching over an empty hotel during the winter season, it is a far more adaptable story for the stage than many of King’s other works.
Prior to The Shining, Misery, Carrie, and The Green Mile have all been adapted as theatrical productions.
Insomnia – Virtual Reality
A new foray for King, the adaptation for Insomnia is currently being pitched by the executive producer of King’s The Dead Zone TV series, Lloyd Segan, with The Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray the rumored front runner to direct.
In the story, a man suffers from insomnia to such a degree that he begins to see messengers of death that no one around him can witness, which appear as gnome-like creatures that cut individuals’ auras to end their lives.
The strategy would involve filming the virtual reality program as an hour-long experience, while only releasing 5 to 10-minute segments at a time. Considering the rise in virtual reality accessibility, this could mark a new form of storytelling in which King could potentially write specifically for in the future.
The Breathing Method – TV Mini-Series
Based on his 1982 story of the same name, this mini-series comes from Weinstein Television and Blumhouse’s Jason Blum. Additionally, Doctor Strange and The Exorcism of Emily Rose director Scott Derrickson is attached to direct the series.
The story focuses on a club of lawyers that connects to the shocking and horrific death of a pregnant woman whose life was directly entangled with one of the members of the elite club.
The ’90s and ’00s were rife with mini-series based on Stephen King’s work, but with advances in different streaming services and popularity of his films, we haven’t seen as many limited series in recent years, with The Breathing Method potentially changing that.
House on Maple Street – Animated Film
DreamWorks Animation is currently in negotiations to adapt this story into an animated feature film, which would be a first for the horror author.
An entry into his Nightmares & Dreamscapes anthology, this story focuses on four children who return from a summer abroad to find that strange mechanical equipment has begun to grow upwards into their house with no explanation. As the machinery implies a countdown to which the house and all of its contents will be destroyed, the kids see this as an opportunity to rid themselves of their tyrannical stepfather.
With it being an animated film, the story will probably be toned down from the source material, but considering recent success with films like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, this could be an opportunity for DreamWorks to delve into mature subject mature with its animation.
Castle Rock – TV Series
Set to go into production next year for Hulu, Castle Rock has already cast the talents of André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Bill Skarsgård, Sissy Spacek, and Jane Levy.
A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland.
The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock has figured prominently in King’s literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption are either set there or contain references to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is an original suspense/thriller — a first-of-its-kind reimagining that explores the themes and worlds uniting the entire King canon, while brushing up against some of his most iconic and beloved stories.
N. -TV Series
A short story from the collection Just After Sunset, N. focuses on an obsession with the concept of a monster tearing its way from another dimension into ours, threatening the destruction of reality as we know it. The details about this experience cause anyone who reads them to go insane, obsessing over the prevention of this event occurring.
Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg is currently attached to the project, in addition to Ant-Man and the Wasp writers Andrew Barrer & Gabriel Ferrari.
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