Netflix has picked up another Stephen King project for development into a feature film. A deal has just been closed to shoot an adaptation of the novella In The Tall Grass, which was a story that King wrote in partnership with his son and best-selling author Joe Hill. Talks are also ongoing for some well-known names to appear both behind and in front of the camera.

It won't be the first time that Netflix has worked with King material, as the company were responsible for the very well-received Gerald's Game in 2017. Directed by horror genre favorite Mike Flanagan, it was a superlative interpretation of a book that was often claimed to be 'unfilmable'. A claustrophobic tale of a woman trapped and restrained in a single room, Carla Gugino impressed many with her performance and it earned solid praise from King himself. Netflix were also responsible for the production of King's 1922 last year, directed by Zak Hilditch. The story of a rancher driven to murder had a compelling central performance from Thomas Jane, and also received praise from King.

With those two productions getting a seal of approval from the horror author, it's no surprise that this latest deal has been made. As reported by Deadline, a feature length film of In The Tall Grass will be made for streaming on the service at a later date. The novella itself was co-written by King and Hill, originally being published in two parts in Esquire magazine in 2012, before becoming available on other media. The plot is typically creepy as befits the writings of both authors, with the brief synopsis running like this; "...after hearing a young boy’s cry for help, a sister and brother venture into a vast field of grass in Kansas but soon discover that there may be no way out".

Joe Hill and Stephen King

Netflix are currently in talks with Vincenzo Natali to direct the movie. Natali is arguably best known for cult sci-horror like Cube and Splice, but he has also directed plenty of TV shows, having filmed episodes of Westworld and Lost in Space. He also directed the pilot for the intended Tremors TV reboot with Kevin Bacon, which was sadly cancelled before being aired leaving the director 'baffled by the decision'. Natali is a solid choice for this type of material though and will hopefully agree to helm it. The actor James Marsden (Westworld) is also reportedly in the running to play the male lead. Filming is currently scheduled to start sometime during the summer in Toronto.

By the very nature of its story, In The Tall Grass could be a difficult project to bring to the screen as a film, but then many people also said that about Gerald's Game. Given the success of those two previous King adaptations and the astute choices for director and star, this could be another Netflix exclusive to get excited about.

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Source: Deadline