After a relatively quiet period of time for Stephen King films and TV shows in 2023 and most of 2024, this fall will see the start of an unusually busy slate of releases of movies and series based on works by Maine’s most famous resident. Over the next 18 months there are five feature films and two TV series expected to be released in theaters and on streaming, including two likely to hit screens before the end of this year.
It’s hard to keep track of them all. Here’s everything that’s confirmed that we know of — many of which are set in Maine, though not, unfortunately, filmed in Maine.
“The Life of Chuck”
Release date: Sept. 6
Mike Flanagan directs his third Stephen King film with “The Life of Chuck,” based on the novella of the same name from King’s 2020 collection, “If It Bleeds.” Tom Hiddleston stars as Chuck Krantz, a seemingly ordinary man whose increasingly complicated life story is told in reverse chronological order. The movie also stars Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan and Jacob Tremblay, and will premiere on Sept. 6 at the Toronto International Film Festival, with a theatrical release to follow.
“‘Salem’s Lot”
Release date: Late 2024
This adaptation of King’s vampire novel, set in the fictional Maine town of Jerusalem’s Lot, has had an extremely rocky road to being released. It was originally supposed to come out in 2022 but was pushed out because of COVID-19-related delays. In 2023 studio Warner Bros. announced the film was to be shelved permanently, which King himself objected to in February of this year, saying the film was “quite good.” A month later, Warner Bros. said “‘Salem’s Lot” would come out on Max, sometime in 2024. It’s set for an October theatrical release in the U.K. and Ireland, with a U.S. release (theoretically) following.
“It: Welcome to Derry”
Release date: Early 2025
Andy and Barbara Muschietti, the team behind both “It” films, return to Derry — Bangor’s evil, fictional twin — with this nine-episode series set to premiere on Max sometime in the first half of 2025. It’s a prequel to “It,” set 30 years before the events of the first film. There’s a whole new cast of characters, though everybody’s favorite demonic clown, Pennywise, will return, as played again by Bill Skarsgard. The series was once again shot in Canada, with the town of Port Hope filling in for Bangor, the “real” Derry. A very brief preview was shown as part of a sizzle reel of other shows on Max, ahead of the season finale of “House of the Dragon.”
“The Monkey”
Release date: Feb. 21, 2025
Fresh off his acclaimed horror flick “Longlegs,” director Osgood Perkins (son of legendary Hollywood actor Anthony Perkins) next turns to “The Monkey,” based on the Stephen King short story included in his 1985 collection “Skeleton Crew.” In the story, two brothers must confront a cursed toy monkey — a tale that is shaping up to be both darkly funny and genuinely scary.
“The Running Man”
Release date: Late 2025 or early 2026
Though filming doesn’t begin until next month, anticipation is already high for acclaimed director Edgar Wright’s take on “The Running Man,” which was already adapted in 1987 and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. This time, the movie star leading the film is Glen Powell. In King’s dystopian vision of the future — which, in the book, is in the year 2025 — convicted criminals must outrun professional hunters on a TV show to win their freedom.
“The Long Walk”
Release date: 2025
The long-awaited adaptation of King’s novel “The Long Walk” — the first he ever wrote, while still a student at the University of Maine, though it was not published until 1979, under the Richard Bachman pseudonym — is filming right now. In the book, set in a dystopian future, 100 teenage boys are chosen each year to walk as far as they can from the U.S.-Canada border in Maine. Any boy who lags behind more than three times is shot dead by awaiting snipers, and the last boy standing wins a big prize. Much of the book is set in Maine, though the movie is presently being filmed in Canada (of course).
“The Institute”
Release date: Likely late 2025 or early 2026
This TV series adaptation of King’s 2019 novel about an ominous facility for “gifted children” deep in the north Maine woods is set to begin filming this fall in Nova Scotia. It’s set to be released on streaming platform MGM+ sometime late next year or early 2026.
