Stephen King is back in vogue thanks to the massive success of IT. Pet Sematary will arrive soon, Shining sequel Doctor Sleep is in post-production, and naturally the world is preparing for IT: Chapter 2. But the adaptations don’t stop there.
Per Collider, Mike Barker – director of numerous episodes of Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale – will direct a big-screen adaptation of King and Peter Straub‘s 1984 fantasy novel, The Talisman. Steven Spielberg‘s Amblin Partners will produce alongside The Kennedy/Marshall Company.
The Talisman follows Jack Sawyer, a boy in possession of a powerful talisman that could save his mother’s life. However, inhabitants of a magical parallel universe who have discovered how to travel between worlds force him to go on the run. The script adaptation will be penned by veteran genre writer Chris Sparling (Buried).
While this project might not have the excitement attached to it something like Pet Sematary does, any King adaptation deserves some hype. Barker is a veteran TV director whose credits include Fargo and Broadchurch. He also has some features under his belt, such as 1999’s Best Laid Plans. However, this project will clearly be a major step up for him.
If The Talisman is successful, expect a follow-up. King and Straub released a sequel titled Black House in 2001. It follows a now-adult Jack as a retired Los Angeles homicide detective trying to solve a series of murders in a small Wisconsin town. Considering that adaptations of King’s work have recently been hits, it’s a distinct possibility.
#Peace.Love.TheTalisman
