The Stephen King Fan-Favorite Novel Without A Single Adaptation Seems To Be Cursed
Stephen King is one of the most prolific authors out there, and he’s had so many adaptations of his various works that some have been adapted more than once. There are even spin-offs of his adaptations. However, one particular King adaptation has been cursed for a while, with his fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon coming close to getting the adaptation treatment various times, only for it to be shelved.
The Cursed Fantasy Novel
The Eyes of the Dragon is a very different kind of novel for King, as it’s a pretty straightforward fantasy epic and doesn’t delve into his usual penchant for horror at all. Instead, it’s a tale of a king who is murdered, and his son and heir, Peter, is framed for the crime. Peter must then battle an evil wizard and his usurper brother for his rightful place on the throne.
The Eyes of the Dragon isn’t necessarily a mind-blowing fairy tale, but it’s well-told and stands out as a unique entry to King’s catalog. This book also was published way back in 1984, so there’s been plenty of time for it to get adapted. Epic fantasies have only become more popular since then, so you’d think that an adaptation would have happened sooner.
The First Attempt
The first attempt to adapt The Eyes of the Dragon wasn’t until the early 2000s when an animated film with a $45 million budget was announced, with WAMC Entertainment producing the project. However, the rights to adapt the novel lapsed in 2000 before the movie could enter active production, so the film was shelved. An animated adaptation would have been a great way to bring the book to life, but it wouldn’t get an adaptation again until 2012.
Another Try In A Different Format
In 2012, Syfy announced plans for a potential The Eyes of the Dragon miniseries or movie. This time, the movie went as far as hiring Michael Taylor and Jeff Vintar to write the script, with Taylor and Bill Haber acting as executive producers. Unfortunately, the project never came to fruition, and the curse continued on.
Hulu Broke The Hearts Of Fans
The most recent attempt to adapt The Eyes of the Dragon came in 2019 when Hulu announced it would be making it into a television series. Seth Grahame-Smith was attached as a producer and screenwriter for the series in 2020, but Grahame-Smith would later appear on The Kingscast podcast to announce that Hulu canceled the project due to budget concerns. Since then, no one has said anything about a new attempt to adapt the classic book, so it’s possible it might never happen.
Fantasy Is Hot, Is Now The Time To Try Again?
In truth, Stephen King adaptations get announced and shelved all the time, and plenty of others make it to the screen. But it is strange that The Eyes of the Dragon, which is a legitimately beloved book by King fans, has managed to get shelved three times at this point. It’s not exaggerating to say that the adaptation seems to be a bit cursed.
We currently have fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and House of the Dragon on air, so it’s not hard to imagine people being into The Eyes of the Dragon. Perhaps the success of those shows will inspire someone to take a crack at this long-gestating King adaptation. Or perhaps the curse will continue on forever.
