Jonathan Demme exits adaptation of Stephen King’s 11/22/63

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Over a year ago, it was announced that SILENCE OF THE LAMBS director Jonathan Demme had attached himself to the film adaptation of Stephen King’s massive time-travel fantasy-thriller 11/22/63, which tells that story of a man who goes back in time to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Not much news has come from the project’s camp since, and perhaps that’s because it has evidently fallen apart – at least with Demme at the helm.

The Playlist got the word straight from the director himself, who said, “That’s off the table,” in response to a question about 11/22/63’s status.

Further elaboration reveals that it was a creative differences between him and King that ended his involvement in the film:

“This is a big book, with lots in it. And I loved certain parts of the book for the film more than Stephen did. We’re friends, and I had a lot of fun working on the script, but we were too apart on what we felt should be in and what should be out of the script. I had an option and I let it go. But I hope it’s moving forward, I really want to see that movie.”

We really want to see it too, Jonathan. It remains to be seen what becomes of the adaptation, although it’s a sure bet that it will ultimately end up somewhere else. After all, King is hotter than ever right now.