Potentially good news for Stephen King fans! Director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games franchise) has signed on to direct the upcoming film adaptation of The Long Walk – replacing André Øvredal.
It was a bit of a surprise when Øvredal stepped down last year, considering he’d been developing the film for years, but hopefully now with Lawrence on board, this show can finally get on the road… (and hopefully not shot down before it reaches the finishing line like most of the boys in the competition)
Aaaaanyway, why should we be excited about this? Because back in 1979, King, as Richard Bachman, released one of the best short stories of his career – The Long Walk. It’s a story about 100 teenage boys who all signed up to walk to their literal deaths – there can only be one winner.
Like one long Squid Game, I suppose.
It’s definitely my favourite Bachman story out of them all – think of Bachman’s style as a little like Black Mirror but way ahead of its time. Other Bachman stories including The Running Man, Roadwork, Blaze, and Rage (which got banned as it featured a school shooting).
Here’s the official description for the story, which takes place sometime in the future:
100 teenage boys embark on an annual competition known as ‘The Long Walk.’ The rules are simple: maintain a speed above four miles per hour. Receive three warnings in an hour and you’re shot dead. The last one walking gets whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Under these grim circumstances the boys develop deep friendships despite knowing that each of their friends’ survival is a threat to their own.
If you haven’t read The Long Walk yet, I highly recommend you do. There’s just something so engaging about the characters and the situation they find themselves in, that means I can read it over and over again.
Source: GeekTyrant
Are you a Stephen King/Richard Bachman fan? And if so, are you excited about the prospect of FINALLY seeing ‘The Long Walk’ adapted for the big screen? Let me know in the comments.
