Stephen King shares details on why one of his adaptations has taken over forty years to be produced. The Talisman is a 1984 novel co-written by King and Peter Straub that follows a young boy, Jack Sawyer, on an epic quest through a magical realm called the Territories to find a magical item he needs to save his mother. Before the novel was published, the rights were purchased by Steven Spielberg, and the adaptation has been languishing in development hell ever since. In 2021, it was announced that Spielberg’s production company Amblin Partners would develop a Talisman series with the Duffer Brothers for Netflix.

In an interview with The Kingcast, King reveals some of the conflicts that happened when trying to adapt The Talisman as a movie​​​​​. He acknowledges his substance abuse at the time, but shares his frustration in developing the project with executive Sidney Sheinberg, who worked with Spielberg on projects like Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Jurᴀssic Park. King feels that he was treated like a child and arguments led to the movie never being made.

I don’t know anything about [The Talisman]. I don’t think about The Talisman in terms of… well, I don’t think about anything in terms of movies. I’ve had that luxury, frankly. For forty years, man, you know, Spielberg talked about it, and the discussions with Spielberg’s rabbi, so to speak, Sid Sheinberg, were very difficult, and they were very argumentative.

I was drinking a lot then and doing a lot of dope. And he was very, very adamant that he was going to take care of Steven and not let Steven, like a child, take too much on his plate. And I’m like, OK, we’re talking about a grown-up man here, a creative person. Why don’t you just step aside and let us do our thing? And it just never worked out.

What This Means For The Talisman

The Adaptation Would Have Felt Very Different As A Movie

While updates on The Talisman series have been sparse as the Duffer Brothers are finishing Stranger Things season 5, a show that takes clear influence from King’s work in the 1980s, the adaptation may finally see the light of day. Given how the book takes place in two separate realities, including one that features magical creatures and werewolves, it will likely work best now as a show over a movie.

Given the length of the novel, it will have more time to breathe as a series. As a movie, entire chunks of the book, like the Sunlight Home, may not have been able to fit into a 2-hour runtime. The Duffer Brothers have a chance to make a faithful adaptation that could include all aspects of King and Straub’s novel without compromising on time or scale.

Our Take On The Talisman Conflict

It Was A Missed Opportunity

However, while it may make more sense for a Talisman series today, what Spielberg could have done remains a fascinating unknown. Depending on if Spielberg directed, or only produced like he did with Poltergeist, it would have been a memorable movie. Both King and Spielberg were at the height of their powers in the 80s, and a proper collaboration between the pair would undoubtedly be looked upon as a classic today. It’s interesting to speculate about now, but hopefully, The Talisman will still capture imaginations when it debuts on Netflix.

Source: The Kingcast