Stephen King’s The Long Walk is headed to the big screen, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The entertainment company Lionsgate has acquired the rights to King’s novel, originally published in 1979 under the pen name Richard Bachman. The novel, about a dystopian future in which teenage boys are made to compete in a deadly marathon, was published again in 1985 in the collection The Bachman Books; in a review of that book, a critic for Kirkus called The Long Walk “a neatly told suspenser.”
JT Mollner (Outlaws and Angels, Strange Darling) is on board to write the screenplay for the adaptation, and Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) is attached to direct and produce.
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake told the Reporter, “When you have enjoyed the strong creative collaboration and success that we have had working with Francis, you want to repeat that experience as much as possible. We couldn’t be more excited about reuniting with him on The Long Walk. He is a truly unparalleled talent.”
The Long Walk joins a long list of upcoming films based on King’s works. Director Bryan Fuller is working on a new adaptation of Christine, while Paul Greengrass is set to helm a film version Fairy Tale. Edgar Wright plans to direct a film based on King’s The Running Man, also collected in The Bachman Books.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
