Sam Raimi has recently said he wants to direct a Stephen King movie, and if he does, it would call back to the early days of his career and bring it full circle. Many moviegoers would argue that Raimi making his return to horror is an event long overdue, as he hasn't directed anything in the genre since 2009's well-remembered Drag Me to Hell. Raimi has been attached to horror since as a producer, but outside of a few potential projects that seemed not to go anywhere, he's been out of the business of providing frights.
Granted, one could count the newly released Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which while not a horror film in totality, boasts lots of horror elements. From zombies to demons to Lovecraftian beasts, Doctor Strange's second solo adventure is definitely the closest Marvel Studios has gotten to the horror genre yet. In some ways it almost seems like a stealth entry into the Evil Dead franchise that launched Raimi's career, complete with cameo by Ash Williams himself, B-movie icon Bruce Campbell.
It's possible that without the success of Evil Dead and its sequels, Raimi would've never been able to rise through the Hollywood ranks, eventually earning the right to bring Spider-Man to the big screen. Yet, without Stephen King, Evil Dead may never have become a success. When the first Evil Dead was released, it proved to be far from an overnight hit–that is, until King caught a screening of it at the 1982 Cannes and began championing Raimi's debut publicly. In fact, King loved it so much that he even wrote an enthusiastic review of it in Twilight Zone Magazine. This caused distributors to give the micro-budget tale of demonic possession a second look, and it was eventually picked up by New Line Cinema for distribution, launching Raimi's storied career. If Raimi were to direct a Stephen King adaptation, it would in essence bring his career full circle, back to the man who inadvertently helped launch it.
As if that weren't enough, Stephen King also helped get Evil Dead 2 made later on. When Raimi was having issues getting the sequel funded, King turned to his frequent producing collaborator Dino de Laurentiis and convinced him to cough up some cash. Of course, Raimi is far from the only horror creator to get a career boost from King. When fellow titan of horror literature - and later movie director - Clive Barker's first book was released stateside, King offered his highest praise, putting Barker's name on the lips of Hollywood.
Stephen King was also George A. Romero's good friend and a frequent collaborator with the legendary zombie maestro, with the two working together on the popular Creepshow anthology films, among other projects. King has never been shy about talking up other creative people he finds worthwhile, and sometimes that pays them huge dividends. It remains to be seen if Sam Raimi actually will direct a Stephen King movie, but there are certainly lots of options available, including dozens of stories that have still never been adapted.