It almost isn’t a new week without an update from a Stephen King project these days, and now we’re happy to share that New Line is set to bring us ‘The Long Walk.’ At this time, there aren’t a ton of details but James Vanderbilt is working on the screenplay and will also produce the film with both Bradley Fischer and William Sherak.
New Line Cinema adapted the smash success of ‘IT‘ in 2017 and is still on the Stephen King bandwagon with first the follow-up film to ‘IT’ which is in production and now this! King originally published ‘The Long Walk’ under his pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1979.
The book is set in a future America which is run by an authoritarian. Every year the country holds a walking contest where 100 teenagers must make a journey until only one is left standing. The competition is a non-stop campaign where the survivors have to follow strict rules. One of the walkers is Raymond Garraty, and we follow him as well as those he comes into contact with during the event.
Vanderbilt and Fischer are huge fans of the novel and have been pushing to bring the novel to the big screen for over a decade. With today’s political climate and the past success of such dystopian societies as found in ‘The Hunger Games,’ this seems like a rather interesting fit.
An adaptation was previously in the works by writer and director Frank Darabont who is responsible for ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ ‘The Green Mile,’ and ‘The Mist,’ but the rights ended up falling through as he was never able to bring anything into production.
Are you excited that ‘The Long Walk’ will finally be shambling onto the big screen? Do you think that this film has a better chance of being successful in today’s political climate or will that hinder the chances of success? Share your thoughts below!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
