Spielberg still developing adaptation of King/Straub novel The Talisman

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Steven Spielberg will just not give up on his quest to bring an adaptation of the Stephen King / Peter Straub novel THE TALISMAN to the screen. The book was first published near the end of 1984, and Spielberg has been trying to crack an adaptation ever since. One of the first snags it hit was that Spielberg got distracted by making EMPIRE OF THE SUN – and that movie came out back in 1987. In the early '90s, screenwriter Richard LaGravenese, who had just been nominated for an Academy award for writing THE FISHER KING, was hired to write a feature adaptation. In 2000, Mick Garris was going to turn the story into a four-hour ABC mini-series. Then the plan switched back to turning it into a feature. Ehren Kruger wrote a draft. Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro worked on the script. Vadim Perelman was going to direct the film. Then Edward Zwick was going to direct the film. In the mid-2000s, it was set up as a six-hour mini-series at TNT, but then it was decided that it would be too expensive. The plan switched back to making it a feature… And for the last nine years, things have been pretty quiet on the TALISMAN front.

In a statement released a few days ago, however, Spielberg revealed that work is still being done on THE TALISMAN.

THE TALISMAN is a great book, and has the following description: 

Why had twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer’s mother frantically moved the two of them from Rodeo Drive to a New York City apartment to the Alhambra, a fading ocean resort and shuttered amusement park in New Hampshire? Who or what is she running from? She is dying . . . and even young Jack knows she can’t outrun death. But only he can save her—for he has been chosen to search for a prize across an epic landscape of dangers and lies, a realm of innocents and monsters, where everything Jack loves is on the line.

If an adaptation were properly, carefully written, the story has the potential to be turned into a fantastic film or mini-series. Unfortunately, it seems that cracking the adaptation is a near impossible task, but clearly this is an endeavor that Spielberg refuses to abandon.

It has been announced that Michael Wright, CEO of Spielberg's company Amblin Partners, is stepping down from the role. Spielberg will be assuming the role of CEO himself, while his working relationship with Wright will continue. As Spielberg said in the statement: 

I have always enjoyed working with Michael and the unique creative collaboration we’ve shared going back to his days at Turner Broadcasting. I am very pleased to continue our relationship and that he is joining our upcoming projects, THE TALISMAN and THE WAND, as an executive producer. I also want to express my gratitude to Michael for helping us launch our company and creating a strong foundation to build on in the future."

So THE TALISMAN is still in development, and Michael Wright will be executive producing it. But there is still one major question here: will there ever actually be a TALISMAN film or mini-series for Wright's executive producer credit to be featured on?