Variety is reporting that director André Øvredal will direct the New Line Cinema adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian novel, The Long Walk.
In 2018, New Line hired James Vanderbilt (Truth) to adapt the novel. Vanderbilt is also producing the film, along with Bradley Fischer and William Sherak.
The Long Walk, written under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, was first published in 1979 and takes place in a futuristic totalitarian America ruled by an authoritarian only known as The Major. Every year 100 teenage boys are chosen at random from a pool of applicants to take part in a competition called the Long Walk, where the winner will receive whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The rules are pretty simple. Each walker must maintain a speed of four miles per hour without stopping. They are allowed three warnings before they “buy a ticket” out of the competition, meaning they’re shot to death by the nameless military who follows alongside them. The winner is the last boy standing. Literally.
It’s a simple premise, but one fraught with building tension as the boys succumb not only to physical pain but psychological horrors as well. The Long Walk has been one of my favorite King novels, and I have to admit I’m thrilled that the adaptation is finally moving forward.
There is no release date for The Long Walk, but Øvredal’s next film, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, can be seen in theaters August 9, 2019.
What do you guys think of the directing choice? Are you looking forward to The Long Walk’s big screen adaptation?
