Stephen King is a name that used to by synonymous with horror but has since gone on to be so much more. The prolific writer broke out of being merely a genre writer years ago and has been a breeding ground for countless film adaptations. With at least one movie in development based on his writings at any given time, you cannot go long without a new Stephen King movie to go along with Stephen King novels. Aside form a new version of IT in the works, the adaptations of King’s THE STAND and the long gestating THE DARK TOWER have fans in high anticipation.
Speaking on both projects, King offered some insight as to where they are in the development cycle, fueling more for excitement and adding more questions to the mix. First up is Ron Howard and Akiva Goldman’s THE DARK TOWER which was devised as a film series and a small screen experience to tell the sprawling epic that crosses genres and generations. It has been quiet on the development front for a while, but King feels it will eventually happen. He told MTV that he loved the casting of Javier Bardem and even though the going is slow, he thinks it is coming.
“It took me 35, 36 years to write ‘The Dark Tower.’ I can wait [for the movie],” King said. “We’ve been close a couple of times. I’m content to see what happens. Sooner or later, it’ll show up.”
As for THE STAND, King said he loves the screenplay by THE FAULT IN OUR STARS director Josh Boone and thinks the 1000 plus page novel may be too much for a single movie.
“I think that his take is terrific — and don’t count on it being one film. There’s talk about doing it in an entirely different and innovative way, and I don’t want to go into it because that’s Josh’s baby.”
Rumors have gone back and forth that THE STAND may be more than one movie, something we also learned about IT a while back. It seems with these signature King novels there is just too much to excise and a longer running time is needed. I, for one, welcome longer takes on both projects and just hope we get to see them in this lifetime. THE STAND can easily be adapted for a new generation and if King likes the new direction, I am on board. THE DARK TOWER is a series that must be translated for the screen and I am confident it will rival THE LORD OF THE RINGS when it does.