The 8 Upcoming Stephen King Adaptations We’re Really Excited To See

In the nearly 50 years since then Carrie first hit in theaters, Hollywood has not yet tired of making Adaptations of Stephen Kinglargely because audiences are still so eager to watch them. It’s a good thing, then, that the author is as prolific as ever after five decades of bestsellers—though, as this list of our eight most anticipated upcoming King projects proves, Hollywood likes it too re-adaptation of royal talesfor the better and sometimes worse.

Note: this is not a complete list of everyone King adaptations at the moment; rather, it’s the titles we’re most excited about, as well as those that either have a release date, are currently in production (or coming up), or have had relatively recent updates that suggest they’re indeed coming.

The monkey

Osgood Perkins has a lot of eyes on him after last year’s blockbuster success Long legsand this adaptation of a short story by King (first published in 1980, but most people know it from the 1985 collection Skeleton Crew) looks just as daring. Yes, it’s a haunted toy, but its teaser poster also featured the following promise as a tagline: “Everybody dies. And that’s screwed.” James Wan (The Conjuring, Saw, Insidious) produces, adding to this horror bona fides. The monkey hits theaters on February 21.

The Running Man

When the world learns a new adaptation of The Running Man was coming, only one thing mattered: would it arrive in time to be released in the barely conceivable, far-off year of 2025, in which the story takes place? Unless sabotage occurs between now and November, the answer is yesand even if we weren’t fans of The King’s Tale (written as Richard Bachman) from 1987. of Arnold Schwarzenegger, we would be very excited for this new version.

Edgar Wright directed and co-wrote the screenplay, which is said to hew closer to the novel than Schwarzenegger’s film. The cast is led by Glenn Powell as everyman who joins a killer game show, with an almost absurdly good ensemble cast of Katie O’Brien, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Jamie Lawson, Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, William H . Macy’s, and others. The Running Man hits theaters November 7.

The long walk

Director Francis Lawrence has been on a roll lately The Hunger Games prequels, but it’s also connected to a different thriller, Richard Bachman, an adaptation of King’s 1979 novel. about a group of teenagers who embark on an organized death march that must end with one winner (nuances of The Running Man, Squid gameand well The Hunger Games). News of Lawrence joining the Lionsgate project broke in November 2023, months before Suzanne Collins announced her next The Hunger Games a book Harvest Sunrise (due in March 2025), and Lionsgate said it will work on its big-screen version with a target release date of 2026.

So we may have to wait a little longer The long walk if Lawrence plans to add another one The Hunger Games open his autobiography—or if he decides he’s had enough of bleak dystopias and hands the reins over to someone else. Either way, this one is highly anticipated.

It: Welcome to Derry

Unlike other entries on this list, It: Welcome to Derry is not a traditional adaptation of King’s work. Like Hulu’s late great series Castle Rockit expands the universe created not only by King in his 1986 novel, but also the cinematic world of Andy Muschietti’s recent pairing it movies. Muschietti will direct five of the nine episodes, so his vision will carry over a lot, and the cast includes Taylor Page, Yovan Adepo, Chris Chuck, James Remar, Stephen Ryder, Madeline Stowe, Rudy Mancuso and Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgård. There’s no exact release date yet, but it’s confirmed to hit HBO in 2025.

A fairy tale

A rare fantasy story from the master of horror, A fairy tale was originally slated to be a feature film, but in October we learned that King’s 2022 bestseller will instead 10 episode series. There are some big names attached: studio A24, director Paul Greengrass (whose involvement carries over from his cinematic background) and showrunner JH Wyman (Fringe, Almost Human). It’s about a teenager who befriends an elderly neighbor who then dies – leaving the child with instructions on how to access a portal that leads to another world.

There’s no streaming service or outlet associated with this one yet, but with this very recent update and the talent behind it, including the fact that it’s based on a recent and popular version of King, you have to assume it’ll be up to full speed soon.

Chuck’s life and Carrie

Stephen King series adaptor Mike Flanagan returns, first with Chuck’s life. This tale starring Tom Hiddleston is no horror story — is based on King’s 2020 novel. and has sci-fi elements, but is described as more in the vein of The Shawshank Redemption or Stand by me (or perhaps even more optimistic than those; reviews from TIFF called it “life-affirming” and “joyous”). It hits theaters on May 30.

Flanagan’s other active royal project (apparently not The Dark Tower for now, alas) is an eight-episode take on the oft-adapted Carriewhich will see it move its much-vaunted horror series format from Netflix (The Haunting of Hill House, The Fall of the House of Usher) in its new home on Prime Video. No release date yet, but news has dropped just before Halloween 2024so it’s coming.

The institute

If you get Ben Barnes and Mary-Louise Parker in something, we’re already intrigued, especially if Parker plays a villain. So our radar is fully tracking this eight-episode series based on King’s 2019 novel. about a mysterious facility hiding abducted children with psychic and telekinetic abilities. It comes from MGM+ — a streaming service that admittedly isn’t on everyone’s radar — but in December Diversity revealed that King himself is on board as an executive producer, which bodes well. The trade also got a first look at the younger cast, who are adults from the book (instead of teenagers, they’re teenagers) and are directed by Joe Freeman, son of Sherlock and Marvel actor Martin Freeman. No release date yet, but The Institute should appear this year.

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