Screen rights to Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes scooped up by MRC & Temple Hill

Last Updated on July 22, 2021

In December of last year we learned that the reigning master of suspense & horror Stephen King has a new novel headed our way titled MR. MERCEDES, set to hit the shelves on June 3. Now comes the unsurprising news that the film rights have already been scooped up, weeks ahead of the novels publication.

The Tracking Board revealed that screen rights to King's MR. MERCEDES have been acquired by Temple Hill and Media Rights Capital with Hollywood heavyweights Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey set to produce. Bowen and Godfrey’s blockbuster credits include the TWILIGHT series and SAFE HAVEN, with Godrey’s experience expanding out to A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, I, ROBOT, and BEHIND ENEMY LINES among others. Modie Wiczyk and Brye Adler also add their clout to the project, executive producing for Media Rights Capitol, which is about to release 22 JUMP STREET and recently released ELYSIUM, Seth McFarlane's TED, and THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU.

According to The Tracking Board the film adaptation already has a director lined up with Jack Bender currently attached to helm. Bender is best known for his extensive directing credits on TV shows like “Lost,” “Alias,” the Stephen King-produced “Under the Dome” and “The Sopranos.”

The producers are currently meeting with writers as they aggressively continue development on King’s story.

King's MR. MERCEDES has the following plot synopsis:

In a mega-stakes, high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely and winning heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from blowing up thousands.

In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes.

In another part of town, months later, a retired cop named Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved crime. When he gets a crazed letter from someone who self-identifies as the “perk” and threatens an even more diabolical attack, Hodges wakes up from his depressed and vacant retirement, hell-bent on preventing another tragedy.

Brady Hartfield lives with his alcoholic mother in the house where he was born. He loved the feel of death under the wheels of the Mercedes, and he wants that rush again. Only Bill Hodges, with a couple of highly unlikely allies, can apprehend the killer before he strikes again. And they have no time to lose, because Brady’s next mission, if it succeeds, will kill or maim thousands.

Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.

You can pre-order King's MR. MERCEDES by clicking HERE. More on MR. MERCEDES as it comes our way!