Stephen-King-The-Talisman-book.jpg

Steven Spielberg wants to make an adaptation of Stephen King novel The Talisman. Fans are currently living in something of a golden era when it comes to King adaptations. 2017 saw an influx of King-related movies and TV shows, including IT – which is officially the highest grossing R-rated horror movie of all time – Gerald’s Game, 1922, and Mr Mercedes. The long-awaited adaptation of The Dark Tower finally arrived in 2017 too, but despite a great lead performance by Idris Elba, the movie itself was considered a disappointing dud.

Steven Spielberg has been keeping busy too; historical drama The Post arrived at the end of 2017, and his latest blockbuster Ready Player One recently landed in theaters. The filmmaker shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, as he’s set to tackle Indiana Jones 5 next, possibly followed by the musical West Side Story. He’s also an executive producer on movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Despite both Spielberg and King being considered icons, they somehow have never collaborated on a project. It’s not for lack of trying, however, with Spielberg revealing in a new EW profile that he’s owned the rights to The Talisman for decades. The book, which King co-wrote with Peter Straub, is a fantasy novel, focusing on a young boy who travels to a parallel world dubbed “The Territories” to find a talisman that could save his dying mother.

According to King, an adaptation has come close more than once, with the author stating “several times he came very close to making it, and there were a lot of discussions about that.” Spielberg feels he may still tackle the project someday:

I feel that in the very near future, that’s going to be our richest collaboration. Universal bought the book for me, so it wasn’t optioned. It was an outright sale of the book. I’ve owned the book since ’82, and I’m hoping to get this movie made in the next couple of years. I’m not committing to the project as a director, I’m just saying that it’s something that I’ve wanted to see come to theaters for the last 35 years.

Steven-Spielberg-and-Janusz-Kaminski-filming-The-Post.jpg

There was a flood of King adaptations in the 1980s during the period Spielberg first considered adapting the book, including Cujo, Children Of The Corn, Firestarter, Stand By Me and Maximum Overdrive – which is the only movie King directed himself. There was also The Shining, which is now considered a classic, but the author himself hated the many changes Stanley Kubrick made to his novel.

The EW profile also reveals King and Spielberg came close to collaborating on 1982’s Poltergeist, but a communication mix-up meant it didn’t happen. With the resurgence of King’s popularity, it feels like now is the time for the two icons to finally work together on a movie – and if Spielberg finds any free time in the next few years, hopefully, The Talisman could be that fabled project.

Steven Spielberg wants to make an adaptation of Stephen King novel The Talisman. Fans are currently living in something of a golden era when it comes to King adaptations. 2017 saw an influx of King-related movies and TV shows, including IT – which is officially the highest grossing R-rated horror movie of all time – Gerald’s Game, 1922, and Mr Mercedes. The long-awaited adaptation of The Dark Tower finally arrived in 2017 too, but despite a great lead performance by Idris Elba, the movie itself was considered a disappointing dud.

Steven Spielberg has been keeping busy too; historical drama The Post arrived at the end of 2017, and his latest blockbuster Ready Player One recently landed in theaters. The filmmaker shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, as he’s set to tackle Indiana Jones 5 next, possibly followed by the musical West Side Story. He’s also an executive producer on movies like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Despite both Spielberg and King being considered icons, they somehow have never collaborated on a project. It’s not for lack of trying, however, with Spielberg revealing in a new EW profile that he’s owned the rights to The Talisman for decades. The book, which King co-wrote with Peter Straub, is a fantasy novel, focusing on a young boy who travels to a parallel world dubbed “The Territories” to find a talisman that could save his dying mother.

According to King, an adaptation has come close more than once, with the author stating “several times he came very close to making it, and there were a lot of discussions about that.” Spielberg feels he may still tackle the project someday:

I feel that in the very near future, that’s going to be our richest collaboration. Universal bought the book for me, so it wasn’t optioned. It was an outright sale of the book. I’ve owned the book since ’82, and I’m hoping to get this movie made in the next couple of years. I’m not committing to the project as a director, I’m just saying that it’s something that I’ve wanted to see come to theaters for the last 35 years.

There was a flood of King adaptations in the 1980s during the period Spielberg first considered adapting the book, including Cujo, Children Of The Corn, Firestarter, Stand By Me and Maximum Overdrive – which is the only movie King directed himself. There was also The Shining, which is now considered a classic, but the author himself hated the many changes Stanley Kubrick made to his novel.

The EW profile also reveals King and Spielberg came close to collaborating on 1982’s Poltergeist, but a communication mix-up meant it didn’t happen. With the resurgence of King’s popularity, it feels like now is the time for the two icons to finally work together on a movie – and if Spielberg finds any free time in the next few years, hopefully, The Talisman could be that fabled project.