After years (and years) of being stuck in development hell, Stephen King’s The Long Walk has finally been turned into a movie. What’s more, audiences won’t want to wait too much longer to see it, as it’s coming to a theater near you this fall. Lionsgate had its big presentation at CinemaCon today and, during the event, the studio announced that this long-awaited King adaptation will hit theaters on September 12. Mark your calendars and plan accordingly.
See also: Stephen King Reveals The Title of His Next Book And Teases A Return To THE TALISMAN
Interestingly, that’s just a week after Warner Bros. is set to release The Conjuring: Last Rites. That’s pretty stiff competition in the horror space. But hey, at least it’s not on the same weekend. As for The Long Walk, it was directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Constantine), who managed to finally get this one across the finish line. Many directors, including George A. Romero, tried and failed over the years. Lawrence (via Deadline) had this to say about it during the presentation:
“This is my favorite Stephen King novel, I read it 27 years ago. The rights got bought and then came back up. Roy Lee, my producer, brought it to me. For me, it was the conceit that was very interesting. You can imagine yourself in the shoes of these young men. World building –the heart of the movie for me is about these young men, their comraderies, the love that forms. This isn’t a try to knock each other out competition, but how we can hold each other up competition.”
For those who may not be familiar, The Long Walk was one of King’s earlier books, written under the pen name Richard Bachman. Various studios have tried to get it made over the years, but Lionsgate secured the deal with Lawrence at a time when King adaptations are hotter than ever. The synopsis for the book reads as follows:
“In the near future, where America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The game is simple – maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings, and you're out – permanently.”
The cast includes Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), Charlie Plummer (Spontaneous), Judy Greer (Jurassic World), Mark Hamill (The Fall of the House of Usher) and David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus).
Look for The Long Walk in theaters on September 12. For more, get the latest on Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower series for Amazon.
