In December, it was announced that ‘The Vigil’s Keith Thomas had been tapped to adapt Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’ into a new feature film from Universal Pictures, Blumhouse, and Akiva Goldsman‘s Weed Road. There was no further information released at that time, but Thomas recently offered a few details about his approach.
‘Firestarter’ was previously adapted into a film in 1984. It was a critical and commercial flop, but has developed a cult following over the years. This is what Thomas had to say about his take (via Zavvi):
“It’s a new adaptation of the book. When [producer] Jason [Blum] pitched it to me it was exciting, as that’s one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and whilst I really like the 1980s film, I felt we could do something new. The screenplay is by Scott Teems who wrote the upcoming Halloween Kills, it’s an amazing script. It has everything you would want; people’s heads catching fire and their faces melting off, and a dad and daughter on the run trying to survive being chased in this heightened tense experience. We are hoping to film it this year, and it will be a lot of fun.”
Not only was the 1984 film a flop, but its harshest critic is King himself! King HATES that adaptation, but so far, he seems pleased with the direction of Thomas’ film.
“He watched The Vigil, approved me as director, and he read the script from the early stages, and he’s very happy with it. He’s excited for it, he’s there the whole way.”
The Department of Scientific Intelligence (aka “The Shop”) never anticipated that two participants in their research program would marry and have a child. Charlie McGee inherited pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who had been given a low-grade hallucinogen called “Lot Six” while at college. Now the government is trying to capture young Charlie and harness her powerful firestarting skills as a weapon.
‘Firestarter’ has not begun filming yet, and with the current coronavirus situation, it may be delayed for a while. It has not been scheduled for release, but check back for updates.
