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Every Upcoming Stephen King Movie In Development
Stephen King is an author who has almost supernaturally mastered the balance of quantity and quality, so it's no wonder a significant amount of movies currently in development are based on stories that he's written over the years. Starting with IT in 2017, there has been an unofficial Stephen Kingaissance, where adaptations of his novels and short stories aren't nearly as polarizing as they had been in the past.
In the past couple of years alone, his adaptations have been treated with a deserving level of respect, and to call the results promising is an understatement. Recent adaptations like Gerald's Game, 11.22.63, and the aforementioned IT have found success in theatrical releases, streaming services, and as TV shows, and the well of Stephen King stories is hardly at risk of running dry. Over the next few years alone, there is a long list of movies currently in development based on his work.
So, given the high volume of projects that fans of King's work will have to look forward to, it helps to have a digestible understanding of what's coming. Here is a breakdown of every Stephen King movie currently in production.
PET SEMATARY - APRIL 5, 2019
The adaptation requiring the shortest wait from Stephen King fans is Pet Sematary. Based on his novel of the same name from 1983, Pet Sematary centers around Louis and Rachel Creed (played by Jason Clarke and Amy Seimetz, respectively) and their two children after they move to a new home in Ludlow, Maine. However, instead of finding peace out in the country, they discover a cursed cemetery that has the power to bring the dead back to life. Also starring John Lithgow as their neighbor Jud Crandall (best known for speaking the novel's most famous line, "Sometimes dead is better"), Pet Sematary has long been considered one of King's scariest novels.
IT: CHAPTER TWO - SEPTEMBER 6, 2019
In 2017, Andy Muschietti's adaptation of IT broke records before it was even released. When its trailer was released on YouTube, it managed to break the record for most views of a trailer in 24 hours (197 million, to be exact). This led to even more broken records, like becoming the top pre-selling horror movie in history and the highest-grossing R-rated horror movie ever, before securing a devoted audience and massive anticipation for the sequel that would ultimately conclude its two-part story.
IT: Chapter Two will revisit the Losers' Club from the first movie 27 years later, with actors like James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader leading the cast. After returning to the fictional Derry, Maine, the grownup Losers will finally have the opportunity to defeat Pennywise the Dancing Clown once and for all.
DOCTOR SLEEP - JANUARY 24, 2020
In 1977, Stephen King wrote what has become easily one of his most beloved novels, The Shining. It eventually spawned an adaptation from Stanley Kubrick, of which King ultimately wasn't a fan, and it then took King 36 years to follow up the isolated tale of Jack, Wendy, and Danny Torrance at the haunted Overlook Hotel with its sequel, Doctor Sleep. Now, in the midst of the Kingaissance, Doctor Sleep is getting its own adaptation from director Mike Flanagan (who also directed an adaptation of King's novel Gerald's Game), which will star Ewan McGregor and Rebecca Ferguson.
In Doctor Sleep, Danny Torrance is now an adult who isn't just dealing with alcoholism (like his late father), but with the supernatural traumas he suffered through as a child; and after coming across a tribe of psychic vampires, he finds a purpose in protecting a young girl who shares his psychic ability.
IN THE TALL GRASS - 2019
Though Stephen King has written a considerable amount of stories on his own, quite a few of them are the result of collaborations with other writers. And, in 2012, he and his son Joe Hill penned a novella titled In the Tall Grass. Set at an abandoned rest stop, a brother and sister attempt to help a young boy crying from inside a field of tall grass, only to find themselves lost and unable to escape. Directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice), In the Tall Grass stars Patrick Wilson, Rachel Wilson, Laysla De Oliveira, and Harrison Gilbertson, and will be released exclusively on Netflix.
