For Stephen King enthusiasts, his Orwellian and tyrannical story The Long Walk holds a special place. And now, thanks to recent news that a film adaptation is officially coming, that place will be in theaters (probably 2025) by Lionsgate. Its chosen director is the absolute perfect choice for a book of this focus.
The “dystopian world” is a popular realm for authors and directors alike. Think The Maze Runner, Divergent, and the blockbuster franchise The Hunger Games. Speaking of which, its prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes helms the name of the dystopian director du jour, Francis Lawrence.
Look at this impressive list of past and future despotic movies:
- I Am Legend (2007)
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 (2015)
- Slumberland (2022)
And while he did direct Keanu Reeves in Constantine, the underworld doesn’t exactly mean a “dystopian world.” However, Lawrence is slated to adapt the massively popular gamer fool’s paradise BioShock in the coming years. Suffice it to say, the guy has a certain panache for this stuff.
The beautiful thing is so does Stephen King.
The Long Walk is Running to Theaters, Finally
Among the wide array of books written in that dystopian genre, it’s always been a mystery–for the past 40 years–why The Long Walk hasn’t been adapted. In 1979, Stephen King was well on his way to becoming one of the most prolific authors ever. However, there was this idea that publishers should only allow a featured author to put out a book once per year.
King, ever the renegade, had more stories in his mind that needed release. So, he contacted his publisher at the time, Signet Books, with the idea to write under a pseudonym “Richard Bachman.” Between 1977 and 1985, this mysterious Bachman guy put out seven short stories:
- Roadwork — This everyman Barton Dawes goes against the world for a riotous path of vengeance. (Think Falling Down orTaxi Driver for someone who snaps and seeks revenge on the world.)
- The Running Man — Yes, it inspired the early Arnold Schwarzenegger film.
- Thinner — A meh movie about an indulgent man who hits a gypsy’s daughter, and gets cursed to be “Thinner”
- The Regulators — When this book about four murderous vans performing high-speed drive-bys to anyone walking outside their house becomes a movie, Warren G. will soooo be on the soundtrack.
- The Tommyknockers — Although nowhere in the 1996 TV miniseries, did you know Pennywise the Clown was a minor antagonist in the book, as seen by a kid named Tommy Jacklin?
- Rage — If it weren’t for the abysmal state of affairs related to violence on school campuses, Rage would have already been a film–maybe an Oscar contender. In a responsible and classy move, King removed this work from being printed. The way this kid Charlie Decker devolves is captivating.
- The Long Walk — And, this may be the best of the revered Bachman books
Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:
“In the near future, where America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. The game is simple – maintain a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings, and you’re out – permanently.”
That was 1977. In 2025-ish, we’ll get the movie. And the dystopian genre will have its new king. You heard it here first.
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
