Best Unadapted Stephen King Novels

Last Updated on July 27, 2022

Stephen King live-action properties have been fashionable ever since his first book hit the stands but lately, we’ve been in a renaissance of King adaptations. With the success of the IT movies, the Netflix movie Gerald’s Game, and the Hulu series Castle Rock companies began to option any King material they could get their hands on. The thing about King is that his work is able to tap into the everyday humdrum that people can easily relate to how the characters react to finding themselves thrust into extraordinary circumstances. This usually makes his work coveted by movie studios and production companies. While the more well-known properties were scooped up a long time ago, there is still a handful of unadapted material that would make great films or tv series. So, with that in mind here’s our list of the best unadapted Stephen King novels!

The Long Walk
Published 1979

Kicking off the list of unadapted Stephen King novels is “The Long Walk.” With the public currently absorbed into such reality competition shows like America’s Got Talent and The Voice this seems like the perfect property. Dealing with the public’s obsession with things happening live over social media and people’s own desire to be famous for the outrageous things they do on the internet would fit right in with this book.

In the not too distant future, there is a competition that is run every year where young men sign up to walk. The idea is simple. Keep walking at a certain pace. If you fall below that pace then a soldier traveling behind you will shoot you dead. The last person standing is the winner of whatever they desire. Throughout this book, we meet different characters and explore their motivations for entering the contest and what they want if they win. The entire country watches on as the competition continues. Citizens even line the streets as the participants make their way to their part of the course.

There had been talk for the longest time that Frank Darabont had the rights to the book. Those eventually lapsed and there were rumors of New Line Cinema doing a version of this book but as of yet, nothing has materialized. For those that enjoyed The Hunger Games, this might give that dystopian future a run for its money.

Beachworld
Published 1984

Leaning more on the sci-fi side of King this short story could make a great thriller. A spaceship crash lands on a distant planet made up entirely of sand. The two surviving crew members set out to fix the ship to escape the harsh conditions. Soon they find that even sealed areas of the ship seem to get invaded by sand. It finds its way into every nook and cranny while both men try to hold onto their sanity.

A great two-person, one location, story that could play up the breaking of sanity and all-around madness of being marooned. Given to a couple of fantastic actors, this could be a nerve-shredding, tension-filled, film that would have audiences wondering if they were cracking up as well. If you’ve never read it give it a go.

The Talisman
Published 1984

King wrote this novel with his good friend Peter Straub. It seemed to be a fun experience as they collaborated again later on. Steven Spielberg swooped up these rights as soon as the book was published but nothing has come of it. Finally, it was announced that Amblin would produce this as a Netflix series but since it hasn’t happened yet it still counts.

Young Jack Sawyer finds that he has the ability to leave our world and travel to another realm called The Territories. Here there are other versions of people that Jack has met before. They are called Twinners and skilled people can flip between worlds to share the body of their counterparts. In rare instances, one of the Twinners dies but the other version from our reality lives. These people can flip back and forth with their body and mind. Jack is one of these rare few.

After he finds out his mom is dying of cancer he sets out to retrieve a magic talisman that can cure her. When he enters the Territories he finds that his mom’s Twinner is the Queen. She is also sick and if she falls then the land will be overtaken by dark forces. His quest now can not only save his mother but can also save all of the Territories.

With such properties as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson being as popular as they are it seems like this would have been an easy property to adapt to try and build on that fanbase. While the young protagonist could draw in the teen crowd, the dark stories could lend to adults enjoying it as well.

Later
Published 2021

King’s latest work doesn’t have the most original setup. He even admits that himself in the book but he does what he can to use the idea to tell a tale of crime, drugs, and demons. While it does time jump some it could be an interesting movie or tv series depending on how condensed they wanted to make the story.

Jamie can see dead people. Like I said it’s not a super original concept. Once when his mom is in a tough spot she urges him to use his ability to help her. From there, his mom’s ex-girlfriend begins to blackmail Jamie into helping her with some of her police work. As the years go by they both get pulled into dealing with the criminal underworld, a drug cartel, and Jamie gets haunted by a demon that could end up killing him.

Eyes Of The Dragon
Published 1984

Set in a medieval world of magic and dragons this was King’s full-on attempt at the fantasy genre. At the time it was looked at as a stark departure from most of King’s work but after his continued work on the Dark Tower series fans began to see that this work also tied into that mashup of fantasy, westerns, and horror.

Here we see that the antagonist Flagg is wanting to destroy the land of Delain. The only thing that can stop him is the young protagonists Peter and Thomas. The story that plays out has all sorts of magic and backstabbing. An imprisoned Prince seeks to regain his rightful throne and the evil Flagg aims to stop him.

King fans will know that this Flagg is the same as the Flag that shows up as the embodiment of evil in The Stand and is also The Man In Black from the Dark Tower series. Rumor was this was going to be made into a Bakshi type of animated movie which would be perfect for such a property giving it a throwback feel akin to the animated Lord Of The Rings movie.

How does this list of some of the best unadapted Stephen King novels sit with you? Do you think we missed one? Sound off below!