The news that writer JT Mollner is working on another Stephen King adaptation already proves that Lionsgate has high hopes for the upcoming YA dystopian thriller The Long Walk. Not all of Stephen King’s 66 books are stone-cold classics, but the author has plenty of major hit novels and short story collections to his name.
Despite this pedigree as a bestseller, King’s movies have struggled at the box office in recent years. High-profile flops like 2022’s Firestarter remake, 2024’s straight-to-VOD version of Salem’s Lot, and 2017’s box office disaster The Dark Tower have all damaged his reputation as a reliable hitmaker.
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More recently, director Mike Flanagan’s critically acclaimed King adaptation, The Life of Chuck, underperformed at the box office, earning only $10 million despite garnering the best Rotten Tomatoes rating for a King adaptation in years. King needs a major hit, and luckily his next movie might be able to provide it.
Set in a dystopian future, The Long Walk follows a group of boys who enter a contest where participants walk across America, followed by a military convoy. Anyone who slows down or stops is killed, and the last child standing wins a mᴀssive prize. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes director Francis Lawrence directs this upcoming King adaptation.
JT Mollner, who penned The Long Walk and 2023’s indie hit Strange Darling, has been tapped by Lionsgate to write and direct the upcoming King adaptation The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
While both The Long Walk and The Running Man hope to turn around King’s recent box office cold streak, the former has an advantage in its screenwriter. JT Mollner, who penned 2023’s indie hit Strange Darling, has been tapped by Lionsgate to write and direct the upcoming King adaptation The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
Published in 1979 under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk was the first novel King wrote, but not the first to be published.
This is notable timing for Mollner as Lionsgate is about to debut another King adaptation, The Long Walk, which he wrote. Evidently, the studio must be more than satisfied with the finished film and certain that it will prove a huge hit upon release if they are already backing Mollner for another, unrelated King adaptation.
While The Stand’s upcoming adaptation by Doug Liman proves there are plenty more King projects in the works, Mollner’s one-two punch of The Long Walk and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is exciting news. Lionsgate is seemingly convinced they have a hit on their hands with the upcoming adaptation.
Considering how much success Lawrence has historically had with dystopian YA blockbusters, including four entries into the Hunger Games franchise, this confidence appears well-placed. The Long Walk could bring Stephen King’s recent box office struggles to an end.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
