12 Upcoming Stephen King Adaptions His Readers Can Look Forward To
Will these Stephen King adaptions float, or sink?
The last couple of years have seen something of a film renaissance for the works of horror maestro Stephen King. Big and small screen adaptations of King's works are once again en vogue, with numerous productions having been launched. 2017 saw a number of those projects hit theaters and the small screen, including the box office smash It, and disappointing Dark Tower. And against all odds, it was the former that broke records. With smaller pictures like 1922 and Gerald's Game, it was a great year for on-screen King.
2018 and beyond looks to be no different, as the resurgence of King properties being adapted continues, spurred along by his readers coming of age, and the success of the aforementioned It. And for good reason: King himself makes the adaptation process easy, taking a hands off approach to nearly all of his works, allowing film makers to stay true to their own vision. He's been notoriously generous when optioning film rights as well, at one point selling the rights to his Dark Tower series for a grand total of $19.
Of course, that happened to be the J.J. Abrams version of The Dark Tower, which never came to fruition. Oh, what could have been.
Regardless, there's a lot more King to come. So which of his works can we look forward to seeing on screen next? Here's a full dozen his constant readers should appreciate.
12. It: Chapter 2
The status of the sequel to Stephen King's It was never in question after the success of the first film last year. It became a behemoth at the box office, and a reminder that good horror always sits well with audiences. It was also helped by the nostalgia trend kicked off by Stranger Things (and an appearance by the Netflix show's Finn Wolfhard), which owes a great deal to King.
Unlike the made-for-TV production starring Tim Curry, Andy Muschietti's 2017 adaptation of It split the source material down the middle. The original novel followed the Losers' Club, the gang of kids who first banded together to defeat the shape-shifting Pennywise the Clown (of course, he wasn't really a clown), as well as their grown up counterparts. Muschietti, realizing full well that just a few hours wasn't enough to flesh out the story of both the kids and their grown-up selves, opted to focus on the children in It.
The film, however, was always meant to have a second chapter, picking up the rest of the story: the return of Pennywise, and the club reuniting as adults. Jessica Chastain will play the grown up Bev Marsh, while James McAvoy and Bill Hader are in talks to join the production.
6 September 2019 is the tentative release date for It: Chapter 2, which will include flashbacks of the character's younger selves.