Stephen King continues to terrorize generations of readers with his novels and short stories, and due to their undying popularity, these keep on being adapted to film and TV – and here’s every Stephen King adaptation set to be released in 2023. The King of Horror has let readers explore a variety of fears, visit many places, and meet all types of monsters (human and supernatural) since the publishing of Carrie in 1974, and the success of his stories has also led to many film and TV adaptations.
Although not all of these adaptations have been as successful as the source material, there’s still a lot of interest to see King’s stories in other media, and some have even gotten more than one adaptation, while others get sequels and prequels that weren’t written by King. Such is the case with some of the upcoming movie and TV adaptations of Stephen King’s works, and here’s every one of them coming in 2023 and when to expect them.
The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman is a movie directed by Rob Savage and based on the 1978 short story of the same name found in the collection Night Shift. It’s the story of a teenage girl and her little sister, who after the tragic death of their mother, are plagued by a sadistic presence in their house. If that wasn’t enough, the girls struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention to what’s happening around them before it’s too late. Starring in The Boogeyman are Madison Hu, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, and Marin Ireland. The Boogeyman will be released on Hulu sometime in 2023.
Salem’s Lot
Salem’s Lot is a movie directed by Gary Dauberman and based on the 1975 novel of the same name. Salem’s Lot follows Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman), a writer who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration. However, Ben will find something worse, as he will discover that his hometown is being preyed upon by a vampire, so he forms a ragtag group to fight this peculiar but dangerous menace. Also starring in Salem’s Lot are Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, William Sadler, Bill Camp, Pilou Asbæk, and John Benjamin Hickey. Salem’s Lot was originally set to be released in September 2022 but was delayed to April 21, 2023. However, the studio’s Evil Dead Rise was rescheduled to that date, and though it doesn’t have a new release date, Salem’s Lot is still expected to be released this year.
Pet Sematary Prequel
Although the 2019 version of Pet Sematary wasn’t a success with critics, a prequel movie was greenlit in 2021. The Pet Sematary prequel is intended to continue digging into the mythology of the town, the rituals, the Wendigo, the cemetery, and Jud’s life, and it’s planned to be released via streaming as a Paramount+ original movie. Lindsey Beet is in charge of directing the project, with Jackson White cast as the young Jud Crandall and Jack Mulhern, Forrest Goodluck, Natalie Alyn Lind, Isabella Star LaBlanc, Samantha Mathis, and Henry Thomas also joining the cast. Although a release date for the Pet Sematary prequel hasn’t been revealed, it’s expected to finally arrive this year.
From A Buick 8
From A Buick 8 is a novel published in 2002 and the second of King’s novels to feature a supernatural car, the first one being Christine. A movie adaptation of From A Buick 8 has been in development for years, and in 2005, it was announced that George A. Romero would direct an adaptation of the novel, and two years later, Romero was replaced by Tobe Hopper. However, the project came to a halt in 2009 due to problems obtaining financing, and in 2019, the project was announced to be in development again. The following year, actor Thomas Jane revealed Jim Mickle signed on to direct From A Buick 8. No more details have been revealed ever since, but it could still make a surprise release in 2023.
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is a novel published in 1999, and it follows Trisha McFarland, a nine-year-old who finds herself lost in the woods on what she thought would be another normal day taking a hike with her mother and brother, and fantasizes about her favorite baseball player, Tom Gordon, rescuing her. A film adaptation of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was to be directed by George A. Romero, but plans for it fell through in 2005. The project was revived in 2019, and in late 2020, Lynne Ramsay was announced as director. There haven’t been updates on the production of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, but there’s still hope for it to be released this year.
Revelations
In 2020, it was announced that The CW is adapting the short story “The Revelations of ‘Becka Paulson” (first published in a 1984 issue of Rolling Stone magazine and later included in the collection Skeleton Crew). The story was reworked and incorporated as a subplot in the 1987 novel The Tommyknockers, and in 1995, it was adapted into an episode of the TV series The Outer Limits. The story is now set to be adapted into a one-hour drama TV series simply titled Revelations, and as it was announced to be in development in 2020, it could still see the light at some point in 2023.
The Long Walk
The Long Walk is a novel published in 1979 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Set in a future dystopian America ruled by a totalitarian and militaristic dictator, The Long Walk follows the contestants of an annual walking contest, where each one has to maintain a speed of at least four miles per hour – and if they drop below that for 30 seconds, they receive a verbal warning, but if they slow down after three warnings, they are “ticketed”, a term that has a deathly meaning. A movie adaptation of The Long Walk could have been directed by George A. Romero in 1988, and in 2018, it was announced that New Line Cinema was developing the project. The following year, André Øvredal was announced as the director, and though there hasn’t been any news on the production of it, it’s said to be projected for a late 2023 release.