With the Stephen King renaissance in full effect thanks largely to the massive success of last year’s IT, which became the highest grossing horror film of all time by reeling in over $700 million at the worldwide box office, studios are quickly trying to snap up any other King adaptations that they hope can have the same kind of effect.
Universal has come out on top in a reportedly serious bidding war that also involved Sony and Netflix for the rights to the adaptation of King’s The Tommyknockers. The story in the original novel revolves around the residents in the town of Maine (sound familiar?) who begin to be affected by a strange object in the woods, which is later learned to be of alien origin.
This object emits a kind of gas that gives those exposed to it special abilities but also makes them extremely violent. One member of the town has a steel plate in his head and is thus immune to these effects and must use this opportunity to help save the town.
James Wan (The Conjuring, Aquaman) is already lined up as one of the producers for the film adaptation, and word is that he could also take on directing duties, though that has yet to be decided on. Wan certainly has the experience directing horror to do this project justice and would be a great choice to helm the film.
A King revival is a great thing for horror fans, as long as the material is given the respect it deserves. King adaptations have always been popular, but they began to become less exciting after terrible adaptations like Thinner and Maximum Overdrive became the norm rather than the exception.
As long as this new batch of adaptations of King’s work can get some great creators behind them (like Wan), hopefully we won’t fall down a dark hole like that again.
#Peace.Love.TheTommyknockers
