Books
This summer, The Dark Tower hit movie theaters with a big-budget adaption of Stephen King's magnum opus, starring international dreamboat Idris Elba. For an ordinary author, having an epic fantasy series adapted into a major motion picture might be a big deal. For Stephen King, it's more or less just another day at the office. That's because King has adaptations springing up all over the place: between film, television, and streaming services, King has five major adaptations due out any minute, and approximately several thousand more currently in development. If you want to read the book before watching the movie or the show, you'd better get moving. Here are the Stephen King books that are about to hit the big (or small) screen.
Now, this is not even the full list of King projects currently in development. Adaptations of just about everything from Firestarter to Creepshow 4 have been announced, but don't have a firm cast or release date yet. And I'm not even going to bother mentioning the recent King-based TV shows, like Under the Dome and 11/22/63. It's safe to say that Stephen King owns all of our souls now. Just accept it. Accept that your storm drains are now full of clowns, and pick up a King book before it's too late:
'It'
It is coming out on September 8th, and if you're anything like me, you're already having nightmares. Like many of King's books, It is set in a small fictional town in Maine, in which all of your childhood nightmares are real and killer clowns lurk in the sewer system. It's one of King's best known horror novels, and quite possibly the scariest (what with the SEWER CLOWNS). The film is actually only going to cover the first half of the book, so get ready for a sequel. And be warned, this version of Pennywise is looking a lot grimmer than Tim Curry in the TV movie...
'Mr. Mercedes'
OK, so technically the Mr. Mercedes TV show has already premiered, but if you don't know the Bill Hodges trilogy, now is the time to get acquainted. Mr. Mercedes is a heart-pounding mystery novel, pitting the retired Detective Bill Hodges against a diabolical serial killer in a Mercedes. Mind games and murder ensue as Hodges races to find his "pen pal" before he can successfully carry out his plan to kill or maim thousands of innocent people.
'Gerald’s Game'
The premise of Gerald's Game is surprisingly simple: a married couple are having some x-rated marital fun when the husband dies...leaving his wife handcuffed to the bed. In a remote cabin in the woods. Where no one can hear her scream. The result is King's deeply disturbing take on a "escape the room" game, in which Jessie must find a way to get out of her handcuffs or starve to death next to her husband's corpse. As she fights for her survival, the lines between reality and nightmare begin to blur. Such a tense, internal horror story may sound un-filmable, but it's coming to Netflix later this year, directed by horror master Mike Flanagan (you've been warned).
'1922'
This is another soon-to-be Netflix movie based on a King book, this time adapting the story 1922 from Full Dark, No Stars. 1922 is sort of like a re-telling of The Tell-Tale Heart, except scarier because it's Stephen King. After a man kills his wife with the help of their son, her ghost begins to haunt him... unless he's just guilty and entirely losing his mind. Either way, it's a great short horror read, and sure to be one freaky film.
'Children of the Corn'
Children of the Corn started out as one short story in Night Shift, and grew up to be a nine movie franchise. This year we can expect movie ten, Children of the Corn: Runaway, as a follow up to the 2009 remake of Children of the Corn. The new movie will focus on Ruth, a pregnant runaway presumably being stalked by those pesky corn children. And if you don't know what all the fuss is about with these children and this corn, just pick up Night Shift and read the original story.
'Sleeping Beauties'
Stephen King and his son Owen King only just finished writing the novel Sleeping Beauties...so naturally it's already well on its way to being a TV show. Sleeping Beauties takes place in a future where women are cursed (or blessed?) to fall into a deep sleep, and then turn feral if they are disturbed or awakened by men (I can relate). The novel comes out this September, and the production company Anonymous Content will be bringing us the TV series sometime soon after.
'The Mist'
It's a lovely, lazy day...until a mysterious mist comes rolling into town. A mist that almost seems to be alive. This deeply creepy story has already been made into a deeply creepy movie, but Spike has now expanded it into a television series. The original story is centered on a group of people trapped in a grocery store until they are finally forced to venture out into the titular mist, but the show seems to cover more ground, exploring life in the rest of the town, without losing any of the terror.
'Doctor Sleep'
King's creepy sequel to The Shining is already being turned into a movie, with King himself as executive producer. Doctor Sleep follows a grown up Danny Torrance as he struggles to save a little girl from a gang of murderous paranormal folk who feed off of psychic children. A TV show prequel to The Shining is also in the works, titled The Overlook Hotel, but we don't know much yet about what stories it has in store for us.
'The Dark Tower'
Wait a minute...wasn't there just a Dark Tower movie?! Well sure, but there are eight King novels set in the gunslinger's universe, and the movie barely even scratched the surface of Mid-World. The upcoming TV series will mostly adapt The Gunslinger and Wizard & Glass, focusing on Roland's past and how he became a gunslinger in the first place. And yes, never fear, Elba has reportedly signed on for the show.
...and pretty much everything else in 'Castle Rock'
Why adapt one Stephen King book when you can adapt every Stephen King book? That's essentially the idea behind J.J. Abrams' Castle Rock, an upcoming Hulu show set in Stephen King's interconnected fictional universe. We don't know much about the series yet, since it just started production this August, but it will supposedly adapt various parts of It, Dolores Claiborne, Needful Things, 'Salem's Lot, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, Dreamcatcher, Night Shift, The Green Mile, Misery, Hearts in Atlantis, The Shining, The Mangler, Four past Midnight, Different Seasons, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and The Night Flier...and possibly more. This sounds like one to watch with the lights on.
