2025 is poised to be another significant year for Stephen King enthusiasts. Following the release of Osgood Perkins’ “The Monkey” earlier this February, the rest of the year holds plenty more in store.
large-scale screen adaptations of “The Life of Chuck”
In addition to “The Running Man,” there’s also a TV series inspired by “The Institute.” To top it off, “The Long Walk,” one of Stephen King’s most grim tales, is scheduled for theatrical release in September. It will be directed by Francis Lawrence with screenplay written by JT Mollner under the title “Strange Darling.” After this adaptation, marathons may never look the same again.
“The Long Walk” presents a chilling scenario set in a bleak future where a number of teenage boys sign up for this infamous contest. In this competition, the sole survivor earns the right to ask anything they desire from a foreboding character referred to as the Major (played by Mark Hamill). Participants must simply keep walking with no defined endpoint — though survival isn’t guaranteed for everyone involved. This relentless race continues unabated until just one contestant remains victorious. If anyone lags too far back, they receive three alerts; failing those, a single shot concludes their participation. Starring Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza”), this narrative delves into…
David Jonsson (“Alien: Romulus”)
are part of the group embarking on the most significant walk of their existence.
“The Long Walk” stands out for several significant reasons, primarily due to its position within Stephen King’s extensive bibliography. Despite not seeing publication until 1979—after “The Stand”—it ranks as one of the esteemed writer’s early narratives. Initially conceived as a high school assignment, this piece extended through his years at the University of Maine before gathering dust on a bookshelf. Nearly ten years later, following its initial creation, it found its way into print under the pen name Richard Bachman.
You can observe the influence of “The Long Walk” in “Squid Game.”
“CIRCLE,” and “THE HUNGER GAMES,” being popular choices, it’s logical that they chose the director from the successful entries of the latter to helm this gripping story about survival against immense odds. One may ponder why nobody had adapted it before, yet the reality is that several individuals showed interest; however, due to various reasons, the project kept getting postponed repeatedly.
Read more:
The Top 10 Stephen King Novels, Ranked
The Long Walk Was Nearly Directed By A Bunch Of Great Filmmakers
There’s a certain irony in the film adaptation of “The Long Walk” tripping up multiple times before it can make it to the finish line. But unlike the participants in the story, there’s no fatal end in sight, but rather a new beginning on the horizon for the timely tale. Lawrence’s work on the “Hunger Games” sequels gives him an advantage to capture the dystopian challenge of King’s novel, but there were many times when the film could have made history with a slew of great filmmakers.
The initial batter to step up to the plate was none other than horror legend George A. Romero, who was approached in the late ’80s to take charge of the film. Despite these efforts, the project ultimately did not come to fruition.
similarly to his unfinished “Goosebumps” film
, you couldn’t find a more socially aware director than King to address the cruelty of such an occurrence. Even though he doesn’t explicitly mention the Vietnam War as the main driver behind “The Long Walk,” the indiscriminate killing of young Americans dispatched to battle abroad during that period partly shaped his pessimistic view of the world when he was younger.
Vanity Fair
):
Your work reflects your era, which definitely crossed my mind. However, I didn’t ponder over this intentionally; I was crafting something quite harsh. It felt futile, exactly like what someone at 19 might pen—bursting with energy yet steeped in skepticism, just as things were back then.
When Romero turned down the opportunity, Frank Darabont stepped in during the later part of the 2000s. You might know him as the filmmaker behind well-loved Stephen King adaptations including “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” and “The Mist.” Among the author’s works that have been adapted,
Darabont stood out as one of the finest directors at grasping King’s work and often elevating it even further.
It’s particularly disappointing that this didn’t occur since, apart from some TV episodes, he hasn’t helmed a full-length film in almost twenty years.
Proposals to adapt “The Long Walk” were even as recent as 2019, with
André Øvredal, who directed “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,”
Set to helm the project for New Line Cinema, Øvredal may not be as renowned a director as Romero or Darabont, but he brings a strong visual style that might have breathed life into the bleak narrative. However, the initiative later shifted to Lionsgate in 2023, with Lawrence stepping up to direct. Interestingly enough, there was a period when Lawrence had almost gotten this opportunity much sooner than planned.
Francis Lawrence Attempted To Film “The Long Walk” in 2006
In 2006, Lawrence had released his take on the DC Comics character “Constantine” and was busy developing a film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s influential post-apocalyptic novel “I Am Legend” for Warner Bros. During an interview, he discussed these projects.
Variety Fair
Around this period, as Lawrence shares, he attempted to bring “The Long Walk” to the big screen.
I came across this project in 2006 when I was working on ‘I Am Legend.’ The writer of ‘I Am Legend,’ Akiva Goldsman—who has since become a close friend—gave me a copy. At the time, we were looking for an opportunity to collaborate, and I immediately became very fond of it. When we tried to secure the rights, it turned out that Frank Darabont had obtained them just ahead of us. Even though I loved it, we weren’t able to proceed with it.
Between “The Long Walk” and
the upcoming “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,”
Lawrence appears to have cornered the market with stories of youths facing the wrath of cold-blooded regimes for the sake of entertainment. But his previous work in the “Hunger Games” universe shows a filmmaker who knows how to reveal the emotional complexities of such a disturbing predicament. The King story essentially sets up a tale of 1 person walking alongside and, in some cases, befriending 99 ghosts. What could be more harrowing than a coming-of-age story that ensures most of these children won’t get to see a future?
With each of his “Hunger Games” sequels,
Lawrence peels back an assortment of layers that demystify the fascistic stronghold of the Capitol and its effects on the citizens of Panem by exploring what leads people to commit such cruelty.
That alone makes him an interesting candidate for such a bleak story, and I can’t wait to see how he carries over those instincts to this.
“The Long Walk” is set to hit theaters on September 12, 2025.
If you’re looking for the easiest way to keep up with all the major movie and TV news, why not
sign up to our free newsletter
?
Read the
original article on SlashFilm
.