New Line has wanted to revisit the world of Stephen King after their success with ‘It’ and are working on ‘Salem’s Lot’ and ‘The Long Walk’ being the next novels which will be adapted for the big screen. Now, there’s news that more progress is being made on ‘The Long Walk’ as the studio has tapped André Øvredal (‘Trollhunter,’ ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’) to bring the film to life!
The director is no stranger to horror and is knee-deep in post-production on ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.’ There is no word if ‘The Long Walk’ will be filmed before or after ‘Bright Skies’, which was his next film that he will be working on.
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 such as maintaining a speed of at least 4 miles per hour. One of the walkers is Raymond Garraty, and we follow him as well as those he comes into contact with during the event.
King originally released the novel in 1979 under his pseudonym Richard Bachman.
I’m a massive fan of ‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ and while I don’t believe what Øvredal has done there would work for everything King has put out, I do feel that he can bring the right kind of suspense as we follow the travelers in ‘The Long Walk.’
Do you feel that André Øvredal is the perfect director to tackle this adaptation of ‘The Long Walk’? If you’ve seen his films is his brand of horror, the right mix for Stephen King’s style? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Deadline