The Super Powered Fancast

Stephen King has had a resurgence in Hollywood lately from the success of the big screen adaptation of IT to the small screen and streaming adaptations of Mr. Mercedes and Castle Rock. With Hollywood developing more adaptations of King’s work, I decided to update fans of the writer on the current state of many of those projects.

The Stand

The ten episode limited series coming to CBS All Access already sports an impressive cast including Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Jovan Adepo, Owen Teague, Greg Kinnear, Brad William Henke, Nat Wolff, Daniel Sunjata, James Marsden, Amber Heard, Odessa Young, Eion Bailey, Katherine McNamara, Heather Graham, Marilyn Manson, Hamish Linklater and Henry Zaga. It also looks like it will be premiering sooner than we thought.

According to Washington Post and Rotten Tomatoes writer Aaron Pruner, The Stand will premiere on the streaming service in the 4th quarter of 2020. a date that was revelead at this year’s Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.

They just gave a little update on CBS’s new version of Stephen King’s The Stand. It’ll come in the 4th quarter of 2020. #TCA20

— Aaron Pruner (@AaronFlux) January 12, 2020

Lisey’s Story

Apple is developing an eight episode limited series written by Stephen King based on his 2006 novel. The series will be executive prodiuced by King and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and Warner Brothers Television.

According to a short synopsis; Lisey’s Story is a deeply personal thriller that follows Lisey two years after the death of her husband. A series of events causes Lisey to begin facing certain realities about her husband that she had repressed and forgotten.

Julianne Moore (Kingsman: The Golden Circle) has been cast as the lead in the series and the latest news on the project is that Academy Award nominee Clive Owen (Children of Men) has been cast as Lisey’s late husband Scott Landon.

The Dark Half

Deadline reported back in December that MGM has enlisted Her Smell writer/director Alex Ross Perry to adapt and direct Stephen King’s The Dark Half for the big screen. The story is about a writer named Thad Beaumont who’s novels are not successful until he starts writing gritty crime novels under the pen name George Stark. When Beaumont is outed and subsequently kills off his alter ego, the people who outed him end up dead at the hands of Stark himself who has come to life to avenge his “death”.

Perry plans to reinvent the story which made its way to the screen in 1993 directed by George Romero. Perry is also set to adapt the Stephen King short story Rest Stop for Legendary.

The Tommyknockers

Universal is adapting the King novel for the big screen with James Wan’s (Aquaman) Atomic Monster production banner producing and with Wan possibly directing. Universal won a bidding war for the property against competitors like Netflix and Sony.

From A Buick 8

Based on King’s 2002 novel, From A Buick 8 tells the story of a rural Pennsylvania state police station that’s been keeping a mysterious 1954 Buick Roadmaster locked up in its barracks for over twenty years. 1922, Dreamcatcher and The Mist star Thomas Jane and producer Courtney Lauren Penn are forming a company called Renegade Entertainment to develop and produce the film along with television, games and immersive content based on the film.

“From a Buick 8 is a thrilling and deeply personal project for us,” said Jane and Penn, “as we explore a uniquely structured mystery spanning the 70s, 80s, 90s and post-9/11 era, centered around a son’s search for the truth behind his father’s sudden death. Along with first love and grief, terrifying and philosophic mysteries are spawned by inexplicable events connected to the titular car. We are honored that Stephen is supporting our vision of his brilliant, provocative novel.”

No release date has been given.

Jerusalem’s Lot

According to Deadline, Epix has given a ten episode commitment to the adaptation of the 1975 short story. The series will star Oscar winner Adrien Brody as Captain Charles Boone. The former Captain will relocate his small family to the sleepy town of Preacher’s Corners, Maine after his wife dies at sea. The move will not be quiet when Charles is confronted with the secrets of his family’s past as well the darkness that has plagued the family for generations. Set in the 1850’s, Jerusalem’s Lot will be written by the Filardi brothers, who will also serve as showrunners on the series.

Production is slated to begin in May 2020 in Halifax, Nova Scotia with an eye towards a fall 2020 premiere.

Sleeping Beauties

Executive produced by Stephen and Owen King, the series about a mystical occurrence in a small Appalachian town that causes all the women to fall asleep is also produced by Michael Sugar and Ashley Zalta. AMC Networks Entertainment Group is developing the series along with a slew of new projects for the network. AMC is developing a large number of products for the network as well as to sell. It looks like Sleeping Beauties will be one of the series coming to the network itself.

The Long Walk

Deadline had the exclusive back in May of 2019 that Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director André Øvredal has been tapped to direct the adaptation of the Richard Bachman 1979 book. The novel about a dystopian society that sends 100 teenage boys on an annual walk with strict rules and deadly consequences has become a classic over the years and has resonance in other stories like The Hunger Games. James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man, Darkness Falls) is writing the screenplay for the film but no casting or release date news has been released since the initial announcement.

Carrie

The upcoming fourth adaptation of King’s first novel still has not found a writer, but the limited series adaptation is still in development at FX.

The Eyes of the Dragon

Originally reported back in May, Stephen King’s 1984 fantasy epic is in development at HULU. The series that place in the fictional realm of Delain and touches on themes of King’s bigger epic The Dark Tower including sharing the antagonist of Flagg, will be written by Seth Grahame-Smith (The Lego Batman Movie) who will also serve as showrunner. He will executive produce along with David Katzenberg, Bill Haber, Roy Lee and Jon Berg.

“The goal for this series is to feel unlike any Stephen King adaptation before, with this rich underlying source material, and the only true fantasy book he wrote that has kings and swords and princesses. We will honor the spirit of the book and the legacy.” according to Grahame-Smith.

Salem’s Lot

Even though King’s 1975 vampire story has been adapted twice before, Salem’s Lot has never made it to the big screen before. Horror veterans James Wan (Insidious, Saw) and Gary Dauberman (IT, Annabelle) are hoping to change that by executive producing and writing a big screen version of the story. Dauberman will write the script for the film with Wan producing. No director has been named for the project, but Wan is coming off directing Aquaman and The Conjuring movies. Dauberman made his directorial debut with Annabelle Comes Home.

Are there any upcoming Stephen King adaptations that you are excited for that I didn’t cover? Which adaptation from this list are you looking forward to the most? In the spirit of fancasting, who would you like to see star in your favorite Stephen King adaptation. Let me know in the comments below.