Constantine Director Attached To The Best Stephen King Adaptation Never Made
There are countless adaptations of Stephen King’s work out there, but one film that has been continually passed off over the years is an adaptation of his 1979 novel The Long Walk. While filmmakers like George A. Romero, Frank Darabont, and Andre Ovredal have all been attached to the project at some point, Bloody Disgusting reported that Constantine 2 director Francis Lawrence has now been given the reins on the project.
Francis Lawrence Directing The Long Walk
Francis Lawrence, who just released his film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, confirmed it himself in an interview, saying, “I’m now attached to The Long Walk, the Stephen King book. Very excited about that.” Just like the world of the Hunger Games franchise, King’s book also takes place in a dystopian future where teens must compete in a deadly contest, so the choice of Lawrence is fitting.
What Is The Long Walk About?
The Long Walk was originally published by King under his Richard Bachman pseudonym. It takes place after America has become an authoritarian regime and follows a 16-year-old boy named Raymond Garraty, who must embark on the society’s annual walking contest. The contest is a non-stop journey where only one out of 100 teenagers will survive and claim the prize. It should be interesting to see this King project finally come to life after changing hands so many times throughout the years.
Interestingly, The Long Walk was actually the first book that Stephen King wrote, but he wouldn’t publish it right away. Instead, the first book he published was the horror classic Carrie, which has since seen multiple adaptations. So, this adaptation is definitely a long time coming, and hopefully, it’ll be a good addition to the long list of King adaptations.
Francis Lawrence Directing Constantine 2
Francis Lawrence will add The Long Walk to the rest of his busy schedule of upcoming projects. As mentioned, Lawrence will also be taking on the long-awaited Constantine 2 starring Keanu Reeves. Lawrence directed the original 2005 film as well, so fans are excited to see this creative team come together again after nearly two decades.
Bioshock
In addition to adapting books like The Long Walk and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Francis Lawrence is also attached to adapt the popular Bioshock video game franchise into a film for Netflix. It seems like Lawrence is going to be spending a lot of time in dystopias. Bioshock takes place in an underwater city known as Rapture that was meant to be a safe haven and utopia, only to fail and become a dangerous and dilapidated place with dangers around every corner.
More Stephen King Adaptations On The Way
Along with the upcoming adaptation of The Long Walk, there are a lot more King adaptations on the way. Although they don’t have release dates yet, the upcoming films include an adaptation of Salem’s Lot directed by Gary Dauberman, an adaptation of Christine directed by Bryan Fuller, an adaptation of Fairy Tale directed by Paul Greengrass, and an adaptation of The Running Man directed by Edgar Wright. Stephen King is also releasing a new short story collection titled You Like It Darker in 2024.
