The movie adaptation of Stephen King's The Long Walk is still moving forward despite roadblocks caused by COVID-19. King is one of the most prolific horror writers of all-time, and that has made him a staple in Hollywood for decades as studios adapt his material. After the success of IT, interest in adapting or re-adapting King's works became an even bigger priority in the industry. One of the projects to emerge as a result is a movie adaptation of The Long Walk.
Published in 1979 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is a dystopian novel written by King. The book follows a deadly competition between 100 boys for the grand prize of getting anything he wants for the rest of his life. The rules of the competition force the boys to continuously walk at four miles per hour or be shot if they drop below this threshold. The Long Walk has never been adapted before, but that will change with a movie written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) for New Line Cinema.
It was previously announced in 2019 that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director André Øvredal will direct The Long Walk, but there haven't been any updates on the film since. During a recent interview with ComingSoon, Øvredal was asked about the status of his upcoming Stephen King movie adaptation. The director couldn't provide too many details about the status of the movie, especially given the state of the coronavirus pandemic. But, he did share that "it’s alive and well and moving along."
As The Long Walk currently stands, it remains unclear when exactly the movie will be made. It is reassuring to hear Øvredal say that progress is being made behind-the-scenes, but it isn't the only horror movie he's working on. He's set to direct Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 2 for Lionsgate and a Dracula film, The Last Voyage of Demeter, for Amblin. Neither of these projects has confirmed release dates or filming schedules, so figuring where The Long Walk fits into Øvredal's schedule is a mystery.
Whenever Øvredal and New Line Cinema figure out when The Long Walk can happen, it has the potential to be a big hit. The premise of a deadly competition revolving around teenage boys could be compared to The Maze Runner meets The Hunger Games. Both of those book adaptations became successful movie franchises that furthered the careers of their main stars. The Long Walk is a standalone story for King, so the movie might not have clear franchise potential, but it could feature a collection of rising actors. Hopefully the project continues moving forward so Raymond Davis Garraty and the rest of the characters from the book can be cast soon.
Source: ComingSoon