5 Stephen King Books That Should’ve Been Adapted Instead of The Dark Tower
Some of these projects are frozen, some are canceled, and some are still not on the studios' radar.
Stephen King 's works have long been made into films, and the director himself readily gives away the rights, often for a small or symbolic fee. Among the most successful films based on his books are The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Shining, and among the most disastrous are The Dark Tower and Firestarter.
We remembered the works that have not yet been filmed and that have great potential to become worthy adaptations.
1. The Eyes of the Dragon
The most famous of King's failed adaptations. By writing a tale of swords and sorcery in the 80s, the King of Horror alienated a significant portion of fans and critics. The fantasy genre was not yet popular and was considered to be for children only. However, the book soon gained well-deserved recognition.
Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, was ready to write the screenplay for the series, which was to be released on Hulu. But in the end, nothing worked out: King's fantasy is still too expensive.
2. The Library Policeman
The author's collection Four Past Midnight contains four stories. Two of them have been filmed: The Langoliers was made into a TV series in the 1990s, and a movie starring Johnny Depp based on Secret Window, Secret Garden was released in the early 2000s. The remaining two stories – The Sun Dog and The Library Policeman – have not yet been adapted.
King learned that his now-grown son was still afraid of the "library policeman" who might punish him for overdue books. Inspired, King decided to give the creature a more tangible form.
This is one of King's most original fantasies, full of grotesque imagery. But it will be difficult to show because of the dark topics of childhood fears and violence. Although Andy Muschietti succeeded with It in 2017.
3. Blaze
Stephen King had a literary alter ego: the writer Richard Bachman. Under this name, the author published six novels between 1977 and 1996. The last of these, The Regulators, was published "posthumously": when King's hoax was exposed, he wrote an obituary for Bachman.
In 2007, however, another Bachman novel was released. It was written in the early 1970s, before Carrie and the bestsellers that followed. The author says he found the story too sentimental.
The main character is an orphan named Blaze, who was exploited by his adoptive parents and left on the streets, where he met a criminal named George. Together they tried to get rich, but George died and turned into a ghost in Blaze's head.
His voice encourages the boy to commit a crime: kidnap the baby of rich parents.After stealing the child, Blaze becomes attached to the baby and cares for him while the police are on his trail.
4. Duma Key
In the 2000s, King's books were often adapted, but Duma Key never reached the screens.
There was talk that Taylor Hackford, who previously directed the iconic Dolores Claiborne with Kathy Bates in the main role, was working on the film. However, the project is now frozen.
Millionaire Edgar Freemantle's life changes after a car accident in which he loses his arm. He suddenly discovers his talent as an artist – soon the paintings begin to influence the world around him, and through them an ancient evil gains strength.
5. Revival
Why this relatively new King novel was never made into a movie is a big mystery. At first, the adaptation fell into the hands of horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who had already directed Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep. But three years ago, Flanagan announced that the movie was canceled.
In a small town lives a boy, Jamie, and his friend, preacher Jacobs, who performs tricks with electricity. The preacher's entire family dies, and the shocked Jacobs tells the congregation that there is no God and leaves town.
Years later, Jacobs and Jamie meet again. The boy has grown up, made a career in music, but now has problems with drugs. Jacobs still performs electrical tricks. But these are not just tricks – he has managed to discover a kind of super-electricity that can cure diseases.
The consequences of these experiments can be unpredictable. But the ex-pastor is passionate about his idea – to revive the dead and find life after death.