Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director to helm Stephen King’s Long Walk

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

At some point in the not too distant future, every single Stephen King novel and short story will have received a feature-film and/or TV series adaptation. Until that day, the onslaught of King adaptations continues and the latest will be a film based upon "The Long Walk," a dystopian novel which follows 100 teenage boys embarking on an annual competition.

A little over a year ago it was reported that James Vanderbilt (ZODIAC) had signed on to pen the screenplay and now Deadline has reported that André Øvredal, director of the upcoming SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, will direct the film for New Line. The novel, which Stephen King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym in 1979, is set in a future dystopian America ruled over by a militaristic dictator, and the "Long Walk" is an annual contest in which 100 teenagers must keep a steady pace of at least four miles an hour under strict rules until only one of them is left alive. The winner receives "The Prize": anything they want for the rest of their life. "The Long Walk" follows Raymond Garraty, a 16-year-old Pownal, Maine, as well as a group of other teenagers with good, bad, and mysterious intentions. This is one of several Stephen King projects over at New Line, which includes a SALEM'S LOT film and the upcoming IT: CHAPTER TWO.

A synopsis of "The Long Walk" via Amazon:

Against the wishes of his mother, sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to compete in the annual grueling match of stamina and wits known as The Long Walk. One hundred boys must keep a steady pace of four miles per hour without ever stopping…with the winner being awarded “The Prize”—anything he wants for the rest of his life. But, as part of this national tournament that sweeps through a dystopian America year after year, there are some harsh rules that Garraty and ninety-nine others must adhere to in order to beat out the rest. There is no finish line—the winner is the last man standing. Contestants cannot receive any outside aid whatsoever. Slow down under the speed limit and you’re given a warning. Three warnings and you’re out of the game—permanently….

André Øvredal's SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK, an adaptation of the Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell series of short-stories, is set for an August 9, 2019 release.