Mark Hamill Joins Highly Anticipated Stephen King Adaptation
The film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk will have an additional familiar face added to its already impressive ensemble cast. Mark Hamill joins Judy Greer, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson and Garrett Wareing as the movie is beginning to go into production. While there have been no announcements as to who will be playing which character, fans of both King and the Star Wars co-star are keeping the internet buzzing about the news.
Not Hamill’s First King Collaboration
The Long Walk is not the first time that Mark Hamill has been cast in a Stephen King film adaptation. The Life of Chuck, based on a novella that appears in King’s 2020 book If it Bleeds, co-stars Hamill and will be making its debut at the Toronto Film Festival in September. The Mike Flanagan-directed drama also stars Tom Hiddleston, Matthew Lillard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Karen Gillan.
A Dystopian Story In The Long Walk
The Long Walk was King’s first major deviation away from the monsters and ghosts that were the primary antagonists in his earlier novels. Published in 1979 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, the book was a dystopian horror entry that centered around a form of entertainment that involved young men walking along Route 1 to compete for a cash award. Any participant that allows his speed to drop below four miles per hour would receive an initial warning but is shot to death by soldiers if it continues to happen in this “last man standing” competition.
Not Many Adult Roles In The Long Walk
If the film version of The Long Walk stays true to its source material, the vast majority of the characters will be teenage boys. With so few adult roles that hold significance, the short list of who Mark Hamill might be portraying include the Major, the head of the secret police that begins each competition.
Mark Hamill will be directed by Francis Lawrence. The Long Walk‘s screenplay was written by JT Mollner in a production led by Lawrence, Roy Lee, Cameron MacConomy, and Steven Schneider.
Past Attempts Before Hamill’s Involvement
The film adaptation of The Long Walk has been a long time coming for Stephen King fans. Years before Mark Hamill was given the script, legendary horror director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) was asked to sit at the helm of the production. After the movie failed to materialize, Frank Darabont purchased the rights to make it in 2007.
Production Is Underway
But Darabont never acted on moving The Long Walk forward. Darabont was no stranger to adapting Stephen King‘s works for the screen, having directed the novellas The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Mist (2007), as well as The Green Mile (1999). Instead of one of King’s favorite directors for the upcoming film, Mark Hamill will be under the command of Lawrence, who gave cinephiles Constantine (2005), I Am Legend (2007), and nearly every installment of The Hunger Games franchise.
Filming for The Long Walk began in late July and is expected to continue through the rest of the summer until it wraps in mid-September. Most of Mark Hamill’s newest project is being filmed in the city of Winnipeg.
Source: Deadline
