The next two Stephen King movies that are scheduled to hit theaters are eerily similar. King is a prolific author who is best known for his works in the horror genre. Since the publication of his debut novel, Carrie, in 1974, he has penned a number of notable classics, including It, The Shining, Cujo, Misery, The Stand, and ‘Salem’s Lot.

His works have been adapted into more than four dozen movies over the years that have collectively grossed $3 billion. These releases include the sprawling Children of the Corn franchise, the Oscar-nominated dramas The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, and horror classics such as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Brian De Palma’s Carrie.

There have already been two major Stephen King movies in 2025, namely the gory Osgood Perkins horror movie The Monkey and the life-affirming Mike Flanagan drama The Life of Chuck. While those two movies couldn’t be more different, the next pair of King adaptations set to hit theaters are the exact opposite.

The Next Two Stephen King Movies In 2025 Have Major Things In Common

Their Similarities Are Uncanny

The next King movie to debut in 2025 is the upcoming The Long Walk, which was directed by the Hunger Games franchise’s Francis Lawrence and is due on September 12. Based on King’s 1979 novel, it is set in a dystopian future where young men must compete to walk without stopping for as long as possible until only one survives.

The star-studded ensemble cast of The Long Walk features Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Roman Griffin Davis, Ben Wang, Judy Greer, Tut Nyuot, Joshua Odjick, Garrett Wareing, and Mark Hamill.

The Long Walk will be followed by the remake of The Running Man on November 7. The movie, which was helmed by Edgar Wright, is the second adaptation of King’s 1982 novel after a 1987 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and follows a televised dystopian compeтιтion where prisoners compete for freedom while they are chased across the country.

The Running Man is similarly star-studded, with Glen Powell leading an ensemble cast that includes Josh Brolin, Katy O’Brian, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, Michael Cera, Daniel Ezra, Karl Glusman, Sean Hayes, and Colman Domingo.

In addition to both movies following ᴅᴇᴀᴅly dystopian compeтιтions that were precursors to тιтles such as Battle Royale and The Hunger Games, and both of those compeтιтions being centered on different speeds of human locomotion, their similarities extend to the fact that both original novels were published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

The Long Walk & The Running Man Will Be Very Different Movies

Their Similarities Will Quickly Fade

Even though the pair of anticipated 2025 movies are incredibly similar on paper, they promise to be entirely different experiences. For one thing, the directors helming both тιтles are entirely dissimilar.

While Lawrence will likely imbue The Long Walk with the dour but inspirational tone of his Hunger Games movies, Edgar Wright will more likely utilize his typical stylized, dynamic approach to inject pop-thriller energy into the more glamorous of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly compeтιтions.

Additionally, the way that the dystopian compeтιтions play out on the page take entirely different directions. The Long Walk is a more introspective piece. Because it focuses on young men walking while surrounded by gun-wielding soldiers, it has fewer action setpieces and a more steady vein of dread running through the story as the compeтιтors psychologically and physically break down.

The Running Man, on the other hand, centers a more wide-ranging compeтιтion that allows for a splashier series of images and more variation between adrenaline-pumping mayhem and quieter, character-building scenes.

The Long Walk Vs. The Running Man: Which Stephen King Movie Is More Exciting?

Both Movies Have Their Merits

It’s difficult to determine which of the two upcoming Stephen King movies will be more exciting. Both have issues that could potentially prevent them from shining. For instance, The Long Walk feels like an extension of the Hunger Games franchise thanks to Lawrence’s involvement and may struggle to compare favorably to those incredibly popular movies.

Similarly, because The Running Man is not the first adaptation of the novel of the same name, it will be unable to escape comparisons to the 1987 movie. While the original was not a huge hit, it has become something of a cult classic, which could prevent audiences familiar with it from approaching the new adaptation with open minds.

However, both тιтles have strong merits. The most promising aspect of The Long Walk is that it features a cast of promising up-and-comers (Ben Wang was just the lead of Karate Kid: Legends, David Jonsson recently shined in Alien: Romulus, and so on), who could provide excellent foils for Mark Hamill, whose villainous role promises another textured and terrifying performance.

The latter тιтle is mostly intriguing because of the genre credentials of director Edgar Wright and star Glen Powell (who is fresh off the action hits Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters). Because both have consistently turned out high-caliber work, this likely gives The Running Man the edge in terms of excitement, though it is a close race.

The Long Walk Vs. The Running Man: Which Stephen King Movie Will Be Bigger?

Both Have Major Advantages & Disadvantages

The question as to whether 2025’s The Long Walk or The Running Man will be bigger is even tougher. The former is an untested IP in theaters. While Francis Lawrence’s Hunger Games connection could be helpful, considering the fact that it is also a dystopian adaptation about teenagers, the YA franchise has recently had diminishing returns in theaters.

Below, see a breakdown of the box office performance of the Hunger Games movies:

However, the original The Running Man was never a box office bonanza, even at the level of the lowest-grossing Hunger Games movie, which was The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. In fact, it only ever grossed $38.1 million against a reported $27 million budget, though it was probably bolstered by the video rental market.

The remake’s secret weapon is Glen Powell, who recently starred in a number of box office successes. After playing a major supporting role in Top Gun: Maverick (which grossed $1.496 billion against a reported budget of $170 million), he starred in the smash hit rom-com Anyone But You ($220 million against $25 million) and Twisters ($372.3 million against $155 million).

While The Running Man could potentially win the box office compeтιтion between the two Stephen King movies thanks to Powell, the fact that the тιтles are quite different in spite of their similar premises could allow them both to thrive in the theatrical marketplace, especially because their debuts are separated by nearly two months.