At San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that Stephen King was very involved in the casting behind The Long Walk. The story is a dystopian novel that King originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It focuses on the story of a group of boys made to participate in a compeтιтion called The Long Walk, where they must continuously walk or risk being sH๏τ.

Over the years, The Long Walk has gone through multiple adaptation attempts. First, Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ director George A. Romero was approached to direct a version of the book, but that never came to fruition. Over 15 years went by before the rights were secured by Frank Darabont in 2007.

Darabont’s rights eventually lapsed when his project never came to fruition, and control over the story went to New Line Cinema in 2018. New Line even announced a director in 2019, marking the third attempt to make the film. This also failed, however, and this year’s The Long Walk is now being helmed by Francis Lawrence with Lionsgate.

In an SDCC panel that ScreenRant attended, more information about the casting of The Long Walk was revealed. According to actor Mark Hamill, King got to have approval over the film’s casting, and he knew he wanted Hamill to be the Major. Hamill elaborates below:

“The heart and the soul of the movie is their experiences in these unimaginable circumstances.”

What This Means For The Long Walk

Hamill Was Also In The Life Of Chuck

Hamill’s the Major is the main antagonist in the upcoming King adaptation, and The Long Walk trailers indicate that his performance will be pretty chilling. As Hamill references, it’s actually the second King adaptation that the actor is in this year. The first was The Life of Chuck, which came out in theaters last month.

While it is not clear whether this trend will be ongoing or not, this creates a trend in Hamill’s career. The actor focused his panel response on how this shows off King’s versatility as a writer, but it also highlights how Hamill still chooses interesting roles.

As for the rest of the cast, The Long Walk will include performances from Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Garrett Wareing, Ben Wang, Judy Greer, Josh Hamilton, and Roman Griffin Davis. This is a pretty deep ensemble cast that will have to deliver dramatic performances, so it makes sense that King would have gotten some sway.

Our Take On The Long Walk Casting

This Is A Strong Ensemble

From The Long Walk trailers alone, it is clear that several of the main cast members have great chemistry. This is witnessed most visibly in the relationship between Peter McVries and Raymond Garraty, who interact throughout the early clips of the film.

These companion-type relationships will have to rub up against the antagonism that the Major has towards the other characters on screen. Hamill is a skilled actor who has taken on a wide range of roles, so he should have what it takes to play the Major in The Long Walk. But most importantly, he goes into this with King’s seal of approval.