Stephen King’s criticially acclaimed novel ‘Under the Dome’ has just been picked up by Showtime to be made into a TV adaptation. King’s novel follows the town of Chester’s Mill, Maine as it becomes cut off from the rest of the world. In the very near future, the inhabitants of Chester’s Mill wake one morning to find that their entire town is trapped beneath an unexplained force field. Within the mysterious dome, the town begins to crumble as fear, paranoia, and anger take hold and society unravels.
Dreamworks Television picked up the rights to ‘Under the Dome’ shortly after the novel’s 2009 release. Other than the announcement that Showtime will be partnering King with legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the television project is in the early stages. There is no word if this will be a series, a mini-series, or a single film. Showtime is currently seeking a writer for the project. King himself, along with Dreamwork TV’s Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank will co-produce.
Steven King has proven himself to be one of the greatest writers of “human nature gone terribly wrong” ever put to print. Frank Darabont’s 2007 adaptation of King’s ‘The Mist’ is one of the best tales of people having to deal with being trapped by powers beyond their understanding ever put to film. AMC’s ‘Walking Dead’ also falls along the character studies of this type of genre with the protagonists forming a small society in the zombie-ridden wasteland. If the producers at Showtime can do something along the lines of either of these genre highmarks, it will be something that I think fans will tune into.
What do you think? Would you watch an adaptation of ‘Under the Dome’? What other King novels or stories would you like to see adapted to the screen? Me? I’m still holding out for that on-again-off-again ‘Dark Tower’ project to see the light of day.
