Stephen King’s short story The Reach headed to the big screen

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Stephen King’s short story THE REACH is now headed to the big screen, set to go out to buyers at Marche du Film at Cannes this month.  Currently budgeted at $12-14 million, the project is out to directors and talent agents with the aim of generating some buzz to push the project along.  King has said that THE REACH is the story he would most like to be remembered for after his death.

That’s a bold statement from someone with such a tremendous body of work.  I would think that most of his fans will likely remember him for works like THE SHINING, IT, THE STAND, etc. 

Here’s a brief synopsis:

“The story’s title refers to the 1.5 mile stretch of water between Goat Island and the Maine coastline. The book details the story of a 95-year-old lady who embarks on a troubled journey to the mainland from the island after the Reach freezes over for the first time in 50 years.”

First published in Yankee in 1981 under the title “Do the Dead Sing?”, it was later collected in King’s 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. It was also included in American Gothic Tales in 1996.

I haven’t read the short, but it definitely has a more spiritual tone to it and reminds me of King’s less horror-filled tales and more along the lines of HEARTS IN ATALANTIS or THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.

Stay tuned as this develops.