The TV series adaptation of Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon is no longer in development. King is one of the most prolific writers in history, and the esteemed genre novelist has had his work subject to more Hollywood adaptations than most popular authors have ever dreamed of. In 2019 alone, a total of four King film adaptations were released (Pet SemataryIT: Chapter 2In the Tall Grass, and Doctor Sleep), while TV shows like Mr. Mercedes and Castle Rock - both of which were based on/inspired by King's work - released new seasons as well. It doesn't look like the author's presence in Hollywood won't be diminishing any time soon either, with several more King film and TV adaptations already in various stages of development right now.

One of the King novels that was in the midst of being adapted for TV was The Eyes of the Dragon. A TV series adaptation of the 1984 novel was announced to be in development last year at Hulu, with The LEGO Batman Movie and Dark Shadows screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith set to pen the adaptation's pilot episode. However, not much has been heard about the project in the year since its initial announcement. Now, it seems The Eyes of the Dragon is one King adaptation fans won't be seeing in the next few years.

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During an appearance on The Kingcast today, Grahame-Smith revealed that The Eyes of the Dragon TV series adaptation is no longer in active development at Hulu. The screenwriter and novelist said that the project's chances of being greenlit were first diminished when some behind-the-scenes changes at Hulu happened, and the original executives who had picked up the project were replaced. However, Grahame-Smith revealed that, although there was still a lot of goodwill surrounding the project, the budget needed to bring The Eyes of the Dragon to life was, ultimately, too high for Hulu to officially commit to making it.

Stephen King

One of the rare King novels geared more towards younger readers than adult horror fans, The Eyes of the Dragon is much lighter on the blood and constant terror that is prevalent in most of his work. Grahame-Smith revealed that, as opposed to making the story darker and more adult, his adaptation leaned heavily into the novel's fantasy aspects and the aloof, slightly snarky attitude of the novel's unnamed narrator. The overall intention was to make The Eyes of the Dragon a live-action, big-budget King adaptation that could be watched and shared by an entire family, with the novel itself making up just the first season of what would have hopefully been an ongoing series.

With The Eyes of the Dragon adaptation no longer happening, it looks like fans of the author will have to continue waiting for the live-action, big-budget King adaptation that they can watch with their whole family. The good news though, is that Hollywood still has plenty of new King-inspired projects coming down the pipeline, including the CBS All Access adaptation of The Stand, a limited series adaptation of The Institute from David E. Kelley, and a spin-off of The Shining called Overlook that is being developed for HBO Max. Considering just how successful most of Hollywood's King adaptations end up being too, it's unlikely that any of the studios will ever really stop mining the author's catalogue for new ideas and projects. That means it may not be long before someone else comes along and tries to adapt The Eyes of the Dragon again.

More: Why Stephen King Deserves The Biopic Treatment

Source: The Kingcast