Billy Summers: JJ Abrams, Leonardo DiCaprio team up for Stephen King adaptation

Almost exactly one year ago, we heard that JJ Abrams’ production company Bad Robot was shopping around a limited series adaptation of the Stephen King novel Billy Summers (you can pick up a copy at THIS LINK), with Edward Zwick attached to direct the series and write the scripts with Marshall Herskovitz. At the time, Bad Robot wasn’t certain how long Billy Summers was going to be, just somewhere in the range of “six to ten episodes”. Well, now we know it’s going to be something closer to two hours long. The decision has been made that Billy Summers will work better as a feature, and the movie is now set up at Warner Bros. with Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way producing alongside Bad Robot.

Deadline notes that, depending on how well development of the project goes, Abrams could end up directing the film with DiCaprio taking on the lead role. Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz are still handling the writing duties. This duo created the TV series Thirtysomething together back in the ’80s.

Billy Summers tells the following story: Billy Summers is a hitman who is looking to retire and takes one last highly lucrative job to feather his nest. The job requires him to embed himself in a quiet town, where he pretends to be an aspiring writer (he actually pours himself into the prose). He sets up in an office with a direct view of where hitman Joel Allen will be delivered to face trial for shooting two men during a poker game. Allen also has committed enough murders for some high-level mobsters to be scared the gunman will incriminate his former employers to lessen his sentence. Summers, a meticulous craftsman, becomes more and more cynical about the mobsters who’ve hired him, and his skepticism is well warranted as things go awry following the job’s completion.

Bad Robot previously worked with King on Lisey’s Story, Castle Rock, and 11.22.63.

Are you excited to hear that the adaptation of Billy Summers has become a JJ Abrams / Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.