Ever since I read Sunrise on the Reaping, I've been wondering about whether one of the most hyped of upcoming book adaptations coming out on the 2026 movie schedule would go back to its roots and include Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen and Josh Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark, but I figured it would be a secret Lionsgate would hold close to their vest until release weekend. Well, thanks to a new report, we know it's apparently already a done deal. The District 12 tributes of the 74th Hunger Games are heading back to the big screen.

The Hollywood Reporter says it has "confirmed" that the two actors will make appearances in the next Hunger Games movie following the pair leaving the franchise a decade ago with Mockingjay Part 2. As a longtime fan, I'm very happy to hear this news, but now that it's here I do have two things on my mind.

Will Woody Harrelson Join Them?

Harrelson famously plays Haymitch in the original Hunger Games movies, and his character is the subject of Sunrise on the Reaping after all. I'm so perplexed that we've heard about the return of Lawrence and Hutcherson before his name coming up first. You can hear his voice briefly in the Sunrise on the Reaping trailer below, but I've been curious if he'll be narrating the story, or will he show up when Katniss and Peeta do.

From a practical point of view, Sunrise on the Reaping already sounds like a very expensive film from the casting before adding Lawrence and Hutcherson. It's got the likes of Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket, Maya Hawke as Wiress, Kieran Culkin as Caesar Flickerman, Jesse Plemons as Plutarch Heavensbee along with Glenn Close as a new character named Drusilla Sickle, among others.

Will Their Role Be Bigger Than It Is In The Book?

This is where we get into SPOILER territory for the Sunrise on the Reaping book.

In the latest prequel, Katniss and Peeta are included in the storyline, but merely in the epilogue when the story jumps to present day. Since the movie got these two, I have to wonder if there will be more in the movie to pay tribute (pun intended) to the character's legacy, or if it will be a short cameo like the book.

The original Hunger Games saga had its finale with 2015's Mockingjay Part 2 where Katniss put an end to the Games and ended up settling down with Peeta and their kids. In the Sunrise on the Reaping book, once the tragic events of Haymitch's Games are told, the story jumps forward in time where the character can find some joy in helping end the Games as her mentor, and counts Katniss and Peeta as his family.

The report suggests they will likely in a "flash-forward", before saying "No details have been disclosed". We'll find out for sure once Sunrise on the Reaping hits theaters on November 20, 2026.

Welcome to October, Stephen King fans! This, of course, is the spookiest month of the year, and it’s thus a favorite time for Constant Readers: the ideal 31-day period to marathon every horrific King movie and perhaps induce nightmares by reading books like Pet Sematary or Revival before bed. As far as new adaptations go, the next one set to arrive is IT: Welcome To Derry, which will be premiering on HBO on October 26 – but for this week’s edition of The King Beat, we’re going to be skipping ahead a bit and talking about the last King blockbuster of 2025: Edgar Wright’s The Running Man.

The lead story for this column concerns alterations that are being made to the third act of the Glen Powell-led remake, but it’s not the only headline out of the world of Stephen King, as we also have the director of the new movie Good Boy sharing his own King-centric career aspirations and a fresh look into the making of Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk. There is a whole lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

Edgar Wright Prepares Stephen King Fans For A Changed Ending In His Running Man Adaptation – Noting It Got The Stamp Of Approval From King Himself

As soon as it was announced that Edgar Wright was developing a new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Running Man, I was struck with two thoughts. The first was that the project felt overdue, as while the book is fantastic and one of the author’s best early works, the previous film version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger bares almost no resemblance to the text. My second thought was, “There is absolutely no way that they stay faithful to the ending.”

In recent months, I’ve had a bit of a change of heart in regard to the latter, as I would really love to see the blockbuster go for the bold, dark ending that is in the source material… but apparently it’s definitely not happening. Wright has confirmed that a new ending has been crafted for his take on The Running Man – and he has admitted that getting the choices approved by Stephen King was an anxiety-ridden experience.

Starring Glen Powell, Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, and Lee Pace, The Running Man won’t be arriving in theaters until November 14, but a spoiler-free preview of the upcoming Stephen King movie’s ending has been published by the UK magazine Film Stories. In an interview, Edgar Wright admits that doing a straight adaptation of the book’s conclusion was never really on the table, and that one of the most panicked days of the whole experience making the feature was sending King the script that he co-wrote with Michael Bacall including said ending. Explained the filmmaker,

For those of you who haven’t read Stephen King’s The Running Man and don’t really know what I’m talking about here, I’ll just bluntly spell it out: the end of the story features the protagonist getting revenge on the main villain by hijacking an airplane and flying it into a skyscraper. People have noted the disturbing similarities between the novel’s conclusion and the horrific events that transpired on September 11, 2001, and it seems that Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall made the call to avoid that minefield entirely.

In addition to the filmmakers knowing that they weren’t going to adapt the ending of the book, Stephen King apparently knew as well, so he was prepared to digest an original conclusion to the tale of a dystopian game show where a contestant is hunted by a team of killers and has to try and survive out in the world for as long as they can. Fortunately, the anxiety that Edgar Wright felt was eased when he got a positive response from King about his work:

We now have just about a month-and-a-half of waiting left to see before we get to see the ending ourselves – and you can be sure that we’ll be writing plenty more about The Running Man between now and the film’s mid-November release.

Of Course, The Director Of New Dog Horror Flick Good Boy Would Be Interested In Stephen King's Famous Dog Adaptation Cujo

Back in March, Stephen King fans everywhere were delivered some amazing bombshell news: shortly after it was announced that Netflix was developing a new adaptation of Cujo, there was an update from the trades saying that Darren Aronofsky was being tapped to helm the project. That was an exciting development to learn, as Aronofsky is one of the elite filmmakers working today – but if his vision for the project ends up falling through, there is another director who would like to throw his hat into the right: Ben Leonberg.

For those who don’t know the name, Leonberg has earned great acclaim in recent months for his feature directorial debut Good Boy, which is a new horror film that features the filmmaker’s dog, Indy, as its protagonist. Clearly he loves his canine companion, but he is also a major Stephen King fan, and when he was recently asked by CinemaBlend’s Sarah El-Mahmoud about taking on an adaptation, Cujo was the first title that he name-dropped:

When it comes to dog storytelling, it doesn’t really get much better than Cujo. But if Darren Aronofsky does end up making his movie for Netflix, Leonberg has other ideas as well.

While the filmmaker didn’t specifically name any other titles in the recent interview, he did note that his introduction to Stephen King came via the author’s many collections of novellas and short stories. A great number of those have been used as source material for movies (Creepshow, Cat’s Eye, Children Of The Corn, Maximum Overdrive, Graveyard Shift, and The Shawshank Redemption, to name a few), but there are plenty that haven’t been adapted yet, and Leonberg would love the chance to bring something new to the screen:

Leonberg added that he sees Stephen King as a master of the “what if” scenario (“What if a teenage girl had psychic powers? What if an alcoholic father and his family were trapped in a haunted hotel?”), and he thinks there are a number of short stories waiting to be properly explored:

Following its world premiere earlier this year at the SXSW Film Festival, Good Boy arrives in theaters this Friday, October 3.

The Long Walk Featurette Dives Into The Origins Of How The New Adaptation Got Made

Lastly in this week’s column, I’ll leave you with this new featurette from Lionsgate that digs into the making of The Long Walk. This probably won’t surprise you at all to learn, but I am a total nerd, and I’m always interested to learn about all of the various calls and decisions that go into the making of a movie. The Long Walk is a special case in this regard, as it was long considered a book to be unadaptable, and a collection of very talented filmmakers tried and failed to bring the novel to the big screen before director Francis Lawrence, screenwriter JT Mollner, and producer Roy Lee found a way.

This new video doesn’t dig into the full history of The Long Walk in Hollywood (for example, there is no mention of the efforts made by George A. Romero, nor does Frank Darabont get a shoutout), but it does address that Francis Lawrence’s path to making the horror film was a winding one that began with disappointment. Previous visions saw their forward progress killed by a big “no,” but Lawrence eventually saw his “no” turn into a yes – and now, the final product of his work is playing in theaters everywhere.

That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat, but as always, I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with a new column examining all of the biggest stories in the world of Stephen King.

Even though the next Hunger Games movie isn’t due until next fall, Hollywood is having a moment with dystopian book adaptations – especially of the Stephen King variety. As someone who’s only really been exposed to the King of Horror through his more straight-laced horror properties like It, Carrie and The Shining, I’ve been intrigued by his entries into the genre, through 2025 movie releases, The Long Walk and The Running Man – the latter coming out in November. I’m a longtime fan of the Hunger Games movies after being into the books first, most of which The Long Walk director Francis Lawrence helmed, so I thought I’d be able to stomach The Long Walk easily.

Wow, I was wrong. It’s no secret Stephen King is hardcore, and I’d heard The Long Walk novel was a particularly rough one, even for King’s biggest fans, but now that I’ve seen the movie critics are praising, boy, do I get it. Let’s talk about my experience.

This article contains some spoilers from The Long Walk.

As I Predicted, There's Shared DNA Between The Long Walk And The Hunger Games

The Long Walk movie is based on a 1979 book from Stephen King, but I’d never heard of it until the movie was being developed. Now that I’ve seen the movie, I have to wonder how much Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins was inspired by it (if at all), because I could definitely see some parallels between both dystopian books. Both take place in a nondescript future United States where the government has resorted to watching kids fight to the death for entertainment amidst a broken system. But, I’ll give it to King, he thought up a much more messed up premise.

The Long Walk has a much tighter storyline than The Hunger Games series. Rather than introducing all sorts of lore for the state of the world (in the movie anyway), the story begins and ends during the titular competition. I found it really interesting that it didn’t actually need to be explained to me what was going on to fill in the blanks for myself, and I was even more horrified by the world in The Long Walk because it was devoid of the YA science fiction story elements that I realize now kind of take your attention away from the core of both books, which is children being killed off for show. Both are excellent allegories for oppression, economic inequality and rebellion, but The Long Walk takes a much more intense approach to things.

The Long Walk Is A LOT More Brutal Than The YA Franchise

There’s a lot of theatrics to The Hunger Games that reeled me in when I was reading it in middle school, and kind of masked some of the political allegory from someone who wasn’t necessarily seeking one - like the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale, or how its protagonist is this really brave young girl who risks her life for her sister, and is thrust into having to survive a glitzy reality TV show as the ultimate underdog of the competition. There’s fun things like her having to survive in the wilderness, use her archery skills, and there being these genetically modified creatures to up the stakes for the final contestants standing.

There’s zero fluff or glamour to The Long Walk. It is what it says. It follows 50 boys who win this lottery system where they have the chance at riches and a “wish” if they are the last one standing. The entire film takes place during this walk, where they must keep at a speed of three miles per hour the whole time or they will be shot and killed. It’s especially inhumane and grueling, because if they need to go to the bathroom they have to do it while walking. If they get injured or sick, they have to suck it up, or die. They cannot hide, or take a break or wait out the competition like those in The Hunger Games. You’re in it the whole time with them, and I was absolutely on edge the whole movie.

The Kills Hit A Lot Harder In The Long Walk, And I Was Not OK

Francis Lawrence has talked about why The Long Walk deserves to be rated R. The director felt it was important that the audience feels “the degradation emotionally, psychologically, physically” and “retain” the intensity of the book in order to keep the themes of the novel and be “truthful” to it. All the Hunger Games movies have been PG-13, and I felt the difference when watching The Long Walk.

The first kill in The Long Walk really sets the stage for how gruesome the movie is, as one of the youngest-looking characters Curley, gets a really bad charley horse and he’s shot in the head when he can’t keep his pace up. And, the camera doesn’t pan away from his brains getting blown off. You see the bloodshed in front of your eyes, and the movie never backs off as characters get killed for twisting their foot and walking on it, or being shot while trying to take a poop or falling asleep in the walk that ends up spanning about a week and over 300 miles. Much like the characters in the movie, I found myself unable to look at each kill and became terrified at the cost of actually being the last one standing.

The Relationship Between Peter And Raymond Ultimately Kept Me Going

The saving grace of the movie that made it all worth it is the friendship that develops between some of the guys on the walk, particularly between Cooper Hoffman’s Raymond Garraty and David Jonsson’s Peter McVries. While we learn that one of them is hellbent on using his “wish” on revenge, another one suggests using it to make the world a better place. It’s interesting to see optimism and cynicism literally in a race to the death within these character’s arcs, and it helped offset all the terror that goes on throughout the walk.

I was surprised to read the ending is actually different from the book, because I thought it was perfect and drilled down its themes in the best way. I’m happy I went to see the movie even though it drove up my anxiety and gave me disturbing nightmares, and found the filmmaking to be unbelievably effective and raw, but my goodness, was I not prepared for the kind of bleak dystopia Stephen King thought up with The Long Walk going into it. Enter at your own caution fellow Hunger Games fans!

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for The Long Walk. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

It’s that time once again: for the fifth time in 2025, we have reached a release date for a new Stephen King project. They’ve been arriving all year, including two movies (Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey and Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck), a TV show (MGM+’s The Institute) and two books (King’s new novel Never Flinch, and his illustrated take on Hansel & Gretel). There are still two more titles ahead in the coming months (namely HBO Max’s IT: Welcome To Derry and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man), but this week is all about Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, and this special edition of The King Beat is taking a specific focus on the shocking ending of the adaptation.

The stunning new film, which has earned rave reviews ahead of its release, is extremely faithful to the source material and pulls no punches in terms of content – but it does make some fascinating deviations from the novel in the ending. While watching the film unfold, I hated it and thought it was terrible, but after mentally digesting the dark conclusion, I have come to respect that it is the finale that the story needs. Before digging into analysis, let’s first compare the two versions, starting with what happens in the big screen version.

What Happens In The Long Walk Movie's Ending

Nailing down the precise start of a movie’s “ending,” can be tricky business, but in the case of The Long Walk, the beginning of the conclusion is pretty easy to mark: it’s when the odds narrow down to 50-50 in the death march.

Following Stebbins’ revelation that he is the son of the Major just hoping for an invitation to his father’s home, the self-described “rabbit” of the race finishes his walk and after this third warning, he screams for the soldiers to put an end to him. With rain set to start pouring down and the contest about to reach mile 331 of the trek, the only two remaining in the competition are Ray Garraty and Peter McVries.

As expected, crowds gather and cheer, excited to see one of the surviving boys be declared the winner. Peter stops, telling him that he wants Ray to go on and take the prize, and they both collect warnings, but the latter convinces the former to just keep going a little longer. Peter agrees, but as he goes, Ray stops and collects his final warning. He is shot and killed by the Major personally, and Peter is declared the winner of The Long Walk.

As fireworks launch, the Major riles up energy from on-lookers, and the crowd sings the national anthem, Peter is despondent and on the ground, overwhelmed with grief. The Major asks the winner what his wish is, and the boy doesn’t ask for future games to have two winners like he said he would; instead, he asks for Ray’s wish: he wants a carbine held by one of the soldiers. Convinced that Peter wouldn’t throw away his life because of how much he has won, the Major is unafraid when the gun is aimed at him. “This is for Ray,” Peter states plainly, and he fires a single round and kills his target. He stares down the road, and then he keeps walking.

Even with three-and-a-half months left to go before the end of 2025, The Long Walk is an easy candidate for “Feel Bad Movie Of The Year,” and it’s actually flabbergasting that it actually manages to be a darker conclusion than the book – which isn’t exactly full of sunshine and rainbows.

How The Long Walk Movie Ending Is Different Than The Book

In Stephen King’s The Long Walk, the final three contestants are the same – Stebbins, Garraty, and McVries – but they each exit the story at a different point than what is featured in the adaptation.

Peter is actually the first of the final three to die in the novel. Like the movie, the strongest relationship forged in the source material is between Ray and Peter, but the boys stick to the pact they make late in the race to stop helping each other. While Ray is providing a bit of distraction from all the horror by telling them a fairy tale, McVries decides that it is his time to stop and sit down. His proverbial ticket gets punched.

When it’s just Garraty and Stebbins left in the race, the protagonist becomes convinced that he is destined to lose, as the illegitimate son of the Major seems impossible to beat. But when Ray prepares to tell his opponent that he is giving up, Stebbins drops over dead, and he is declared the winner.

But for Ray, the Long Walk is not over. Even as crowds cheer his name and he is approached by The Major with congratulations on his victory, he still sees the silhouette of another walker up ahead with whom he believes he is still competing. He doesn’t stop; his mind fully broken, he instead begins to run so that he can catch up.

Both endings are incredibly powerful, albeit very different. The stories each see their main characters reach their end as broken humans who cannot properly live on after their endured trauma, but the film version adds a bit more complexity to the mix by giving more prominence to the “wish” aspect of the rules. While watching the movie, my initial feeling was that the book provided a much better conclusion, but I’ve come around on the take by screenwriter J.T. Mollner and find a lot of power in what he has written – specifically in the larger commentary about society’s treatment of youth.

I Initially Hated The Long Walk Ending… Until I Realized Why Change And Its Extreme Darkness Was Necessary

The Long Walk was the first novel that Stephen King ever completed, and while it wasn’t published until 1979 (under the author’s pseudonym Richard Bachman), the context of the Vietnam War is important to recognize in fully understanding the novel. King was seeing thousands of kids his age being sent overseas to fight and die in a war with an unclear agenda and strategy. That carnage was interpreted metaphorically by the writer as a celebrated “game” in a dystopian America.

More than a half-century after King wrote the book, the Vietnam War is long over and young Americans of today aren’t being drafted into combat, but young people are nevertheless continually burdened by inefficiencies in our society. These generations are told they are going to inherit our world, but meanwhile, public education systems are being dismantled, food insecurity is a major crisis in households with children (17.9 percent of them, per the USDA in 2023), and no gun control legislation is close to being passed despite firearm-related mortality being the leading cause of death among Americans aged 0-19 (as of 2022, according to the New England Journal of Medicine).

The story of The Long Walk is as relevant in 2025 as it was in the 1970s, and it’s necessary that the film end with extreme bleakness to drive home its point. I balked at an aspect of this while watching the movie, but I have since come around to appreciate it for what it has done.

At one point in the second act of the film, the boys get around to talking about the wishes that they hope to make should they win The Long Walk, and these desires tell us a lot about who these characters are and where they’ve come from. In the case of Ray Garraty, he is out for revenge; he’s the one who has the plan to wish for the carbine so that he can shoot the Major as payback for the execution of his father. Peter has what can be considered a more noble goal, in that it’s his intention to declare that future versions of the contest will have not one winner, but two.

So yeah, when Ray dies and Peter makes a wish for a gun instead of saving future lives, it hurts. With effervescent charisma and charm infused by actor David Jonsson, Peter is a character whom we want to see conquer the darkness that has engulfed him and have the fortitude to stand up against the fascist forces that have put him through extreme torture… but in what way is that fair? He is just a kid, and he has spent his entire existence getting broken by systems that he had no hand in, with The Long Walk just being the final nail in the coffin that was built around him his entire life. Judgement should not be held for Peter but for the forces that drove him to the brink – and the way in which The Long Walk makes one consider that is bleak but immense.

For those of you who are reading this feature to gird yourself for the experience of the film, The Long Walk is playing in theaters now (I find it hard to imagine anyone who has already seen it will be rushing for a second screening). And come next Thursday, I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend with a brand new edition of The King Beat digging into all of the latest and biggest headlines from the world of Stephen King. Between now and then, you can discover the long and exceptional history of King’s stories in film and television with my series Adapting Stephen King.

When Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk hits the 2025 movie calendar on September 12, expect to see some visceral reactions from those who take a trip to the theater. Already we’ve heard from people who can’t make it through the trailer without crying, and first reactions from the screenings described an “emotional wallop.” But beyond the “nauseating” experience that critics are promising, they’re also blown away by one David Jonsson’s performance.

The Stephen King book-to-screen adaptation centers around Cooper Hoffman’s Raymond Garraty, one of 50 young men who enter a contest to see who can walk the longest. Those who slow down are executed until just one remains. While Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son is being praised for his performance, our own Eric Eisenberg says David Jonsson has “never been better.” He rates the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars and writes in CinemaBlend’s review of The Long Walk:

Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting agrees, calling both Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza) and David Jonsson (Rye Lane, Alien: Romulus) rising stars. Overall, the critic gives the upcoming horror movie 4 out of 5 skulls, saying of the actors:

Jacob Oller of AV Club gives The Long Walk a B, saying that for as “bloody and upsetting” as the movie is, it boils down a 100-minute walk-and-talk between some of the best young actors out there — particularly Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson. Oller continues:

Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com rates the movie 3 out of 4 stars, noting that The Long Walk has a very deserved R-rating for its splattercore killings that never get less haunting as the body count rises. Of the actors in question, the critic writes:

Gregory Nussen of Deadline agrees with the above critics when it comes to the jobs done by the leading cast members, but overall Nussen says The Long Walk is “entirely too heavy.” Its “nauseating” message is such that it “hits us with an anvil when a hammer would do.” He continues:

There’s no question that The Long Walk is going to be a tough watch, but for those who can stomach it — and this red-band clip might be a good litmus test for that — it sounds like the actors have really put in a performance worth watching. The movie hits theaters on Friday, September 12.

After years of production stalls and peering through the porthole at Rapture with nothing but rumors to keep us afloat, we finally have something concrete about Netflix’s BioShock movie, and it’s precisely the news fans wanted to hear. A key producer has confirmed which story the upcoming video game adaptation will tackle first, and it’s the choice that makes the most sense for a big, moody plunge into this world.

In an exclusive chat with The Direct while promoting the upcoming The Long Walk, producer Roy Lee confirmed the film will directly adapt the original 2007 game, not a remix or side story. As Lee put it:

Lee also explained how Francis Lawrence’s Hunger Games schedule and additional script work briefly reshuffled the deck, without knocking BioShock off course. He continued:

That timeline tracks with Lawrence’s current commitments. Production on The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping is underway in Spain with a theatrical release set for the 2026 release schedule, dropping next November. If the pieces fall as Lee suggests, BioShock is poised to step up next, with the screenplay being tightened in the interim. No casting or release window has been announced, but Michael Green (Logan) is scripting, and the project remains set for a global Netflix debut whenever it's actually ready.

For anyone new to the franchise (or due for a refresher), the first BioShock unfurls after a plane crash strands protagonist Jack in the mid-Atlantic, where he discovers Rapture, a leaking Art Deco utopia. What follows is a heady mix of survival horror, pointed satire, and one of gaming’s most memorable twists. The original spawned two sequels, BioShock 2 (2010) and BioShock Infinite (2013), and is frequently cited as a high-water mark in narrative design.

Adapting the series has long been the thorn in the side of filmmakers who have taken up the challenge. There are budget and believability considerations. We are talking about creating a believable underwater city that is crumbling from years of neglect, and it's not something that can be brought to life easily without a ton of VFX.

But the adaptation landscape has shifted. Prestige genre series and films, from The Last of Us (available to stream with an HBO Max subscription) to other recent game-to-screen successes, have shown that world-building on this scale is possible without sacrificing character or tone. Lawrence, fresh off the momentum of the book to screen adaptations of The Long Walk and his continued work on all the Hunger Games films, seems like a steady hand to balance spectacle with the philosophical bite that made BioShock more than a monster mash and a game I have returned to over and over again.

The confirmation that Lawrence is still attached to the project and that his vision of the film is based on the first game—and waiting patiently in his queue—makes this return to Rapture feel real at last. Still, after nearly 20 years of starts and stops, I find myself cautiously optimistic.

Francis Lawrence’s latest, The Long Walk, hits the 2025 movie schedule on September 12.

Per Frank Darabont’s commentary track for The Mist, Stephen King had instant appreciation for the now-infamous ending of the 2007 film – which is notably way more extreme than what is featured in the King novella on which it’s based. In an email, the legendary author wrote to Darabont, “Every generation needs a movie like Night of the Living Dead where nothing turns out well for anybody at the end.” Happy conclusions are a dime a dozen on the big screen, hence the coinage of the phrase “Hollywood ending.” But whether we like it or not, bleakness is a part of life, and there is a certain responsibility for art to reflect that hard reality.

Eighteen years after the theatrical release of The Mist, another Stephen King movie has been crafted to further that tradition – though Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk is also a very different animal. Unlike the Darabont film, there is no shock from the unfurling tragedy, as the adaptation in this case not only stays faithful to the source material, but more importantly commits to the promise that’s made in the opening scenes. Whether you’re familiar with the book or not, there is no excuse not to be emotionally prepared for the experience that is unleashed in the story as the young protagonists participate in a death march that can only have one winner/survivor. And yet, there is no amount of preparation actually possible that can get you ready for the blow that this exceptional and powerful new movie delivers.

The Long Walk is a work that I view through a kind of masochistic lens. The Stephen King book (the first novel he ever completed, which was originally published under his Richard Bachman pseudonym) is one of my favorites in the author’s canon, and I’ve spent years fascinated and hopeful that it could someday shirk its reputation as “unfilmable” and be brought to the big screen in all of its bleak glory. In the wake of watching Lawrence’s adaptation, a knot tied firmly in my guts, I wondered why I was so excited to feel so miserable. And yet, I’m in absolute awe of the film’s audacity and execution. It’s modern cinema at its most hardcore.

Set in a not-too-distant future that has seen America struggling in the wake of a high-toll war, the film begins as 50 teenagers are selected from around the country (one from each state) to take part in the title competition. Each contestant must maintain a speed of three miles per hour, and if they slow down, they receive a warning. While walking for one hour straight can clear one warning, collecting three warnings means losing, and losing means being executed by one of the soldiers constantly monitoring the action.

We follow the horrific journey with Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), who is the “lucky” contestant to be competing in his home state. Along the way, he develops complicated relationships with his fellow walkers, creating a friend group dubbed the “Musketeers” with Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Arthur Baker (Tut Nyuot), and Hank Solson (Ben Wang). With the game’s organizer, the fascistic The Major (Mark Hamill), occasionally driving by with amplified rants about patriotism and sacrifice, the boys bond by talking about the world, their lives and their dreams of what they’ll do with the grand prize: great riches and the granting of a single wish. But there can only be one winner, and as days pass and number of contestants dwindles, the stakes never stop escalating.

Brilliant character development is key to The Long Walk's ultimately simple story.

There are two principal reasons why The Long Walk developed a reputation as “unfilmable,” and the first concerns the story’s unflappable commitment to a single action, which is the characters walking. The novel is written with a third person perspective, but it never strays from Ray Garraty’s side, and there are no side-plots or breaks from the eponymous competition. JT Mollner’s screenplay doesn’t commit in the same way, as there is a fractured dream sequence that precedes a flashback, but those moments are the exceptions, and it’s spectacular how one can be spellbound by the simplicity.

A foundation of Stephen King’s storytelling is that any narrative can be compelling if the reader cares about the characters, and that’s The Long Walk’s secret weapon. Some of the teens opt for silence and to focus on the competition (like Garrett Wareing’s mysterious Stebbens), and others opt to play the heel card (like Charlie Plummer’s antagonistic Barkovitch), but the movie is mostly about a group of young people who just try and get along and share their personal stories as they march. They joke together and they struggle together moving toward what is an almost inevitable death. And while the rules of the game never change, the stakes are ever-escalating as the audience can’t help but get invested and not want to see fate met.

There are no weak links in the Long Walk cast, but David Jonsson is a remarkable scene-stealer.

We care about the protagonists because the movie finds ways for us to connect with them and for us to understand their humanity – but charm and charisma play a role as well, and the full ensemble cast of The Long Walk is impeccable. Cooper Hoffman instantly demonstrated himself as a terrific talent a few years ago with his outstanding big screen debut as affable go-getter Gary Valentine in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, and he solidifies his young reputation with gripping work as Ray Garraty, who hides a traumatized soul behind his efforts to connect with the other walkers and help those who suddenly find themselves stacking up warnings.

Hoffman’s work is powerful, and I could highlight outstanding aspects of all the film’s performances (special shout out to Judy Greer, who, in limited screen time as Ray’s mom, brought me to tears), but I can guarantee that the turn that everyone is going to be talking about coming out of the movie is David Jonsson as Peter McVries. I’ve been well aware of the English actor’s talents since his lead turn in Raine Allen-Miller’s tremendous 2023 romantic drama Rye Lane, and we are now just a little over a year removed from his scene-stealing work in Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, but he has never been better than what he’s doing here.

As the walk continues, Peter is revealed as the soul of the film – a good kid who comes from nothing and makes an honest go at perpetual optimism in a life of cruelty – and Jonsson’s emotional journey is perfection.

The Long Walk is a film where being shocking is part of the point, and Francis Lawrence delivers in all areas.

Of course, reflecting the cruelties of fascistic power and systemic abuses of younger generations is a vital point of The Long Walk, and in its depiction, Francis Lawrence’s direction is fearless. The second principal reason why King’s story was long believed unfit for the big screen was because of the belief that no studio would support the creation of such a punishing film for wide release, but there are zero punches pulled it. It would be a betrayal of the themes of the story for the adaptation to flinch when it comes to its depictions of violence, and Lawrence lets audiences know the score early on when a walker pulls up lame with a charley horse and collects three warnings. There is no cutaway as a soldier’s bullet fires down through the side of the boy’s head and out of his cheek, the force of the projectile causing his neck to jerk.

The bold presentation of the executions is one key choice, but the visceral nature of The Long Walk isn’t limited to the shocking eliminations. The fatal consequence of losing is horrific, but not to be ignored is that the entire competition is a variation of torture, and the presentation of the toll it takes on the characters is affecting (a fascinating aspect of telling this story is that there is no way of getting around having performers walk for miles and miles and miles throughout production, and it’s very much reflected in the physicality).

Everything from walkers getting bloody injuries to letting out exasperated cries of anguish to even defecating is part of the hard-to-stomach ordeal, and even movie-goers with the weakest tolerance of such extremes will be able to appreciate the fortitude in the filmmaking.

I imagine that the experience of The Long Walk for audiences ignorant of the source material will be similar to how I felt while having my own bleak cinema baptism with Stanley Kubrick’s Paths Of Glory. I will never forget watching that classic movie and my brain protecting me with the thought, Kirk Douglas is surely going to make some kind of heroic last minute move and this travesty of justice will not reach its darkest conclusion. And then the soldiers were lined up and executed by firing squad. It left me agog with a powerful reminder of the very real darkness of our world. We need those reminders in our art or everything is just diversion.

The new King adaptation isn’t on the same level as Kubrick’ iconic film and (not to mention the story is a few steps removed from reality as dystopian fiction vs. a cinematic recounting of the Souain corporals affair), but it inspires the same species of intestinal turmoil. It confronts you about the way in which our society has a propensity for exploiting youth while ignoring the consequences, and that’s as true today as it was during the Vietnam War when the novel was initially written. It’s a statement that Francis Lawrence previously made with his Hunger Games movies, but he full-throatedly screams it with The Long Walk, and it’s unforgettable.

The Long Walk is fast approaching on the 2025 movie schedule, and soon the world will get to watch the book-to-screen adaptation of the chilling dystopian Stephen King tale that some thought couldn't be made into a movie. It finally happened, and one movie theater is doing a wild stunt screening that has me a little jealous that I can't take part in it.

In a world where movie marketers are trying to come up with some of the best or at least strange popcorn buckets out there, The Long Walk is doing something a little different. In fact, viewers of this special screening might want to purchase a water bottle at concessions, as they'll be walking along with the characters during a special treadmill screening.

A Treadmill Screening Of The Long Walk Is Happening

The Culver Theater in Los Angeles will host a private screening of The Long Walk, which will require attendees to walk on treadmills while watching the movie.

EW reported that those on the treadmill must maintain a pace of three miles per hour while watching, and if they fall behind, they'll be removed from the theater and unable to watch the rest of the movie. Given the movie's runtime, I would speculate that attendees will walk a little over five miles before the credits roll. That's a distance but, hopefully, not one so bad that attendees won't have to leave the movie early.

While This Is Wild, It Sounds Kind Of Fun

I can't say I've ever walked multiple miles while watching a movie, but I do think that I could do it pretty easily. Hell, if more theaters offered the opportunity for me to get a walk-in while seeing new movies, I may actually use that as an excuse to hit the gym more often.

The Long Walk team did a good job picking a marketing stunt that will draw eyes, but will it impact the message of the movie?

This film is about a group of boys walking for their lives, and they die if they stop. The notion of audiences also doing a task somewhat similar to that (minus the death part) feels a bit morbid, and I have to wonder how it'll impact how people view the film and its message.

Should someone come out of this screening if they end up watching the whole movie feeling confident enough to be the last man standing in a death march? I don't think so. I would imagine that many people will make it through the treadmill screening without any significant injuries or life-altering consequences, which I'm sure the people at Lionsgate and the Culver Theater would prefer. The last thing they need is a screening as R-rated as this movie is.

I also think it's worth noting that CinemaBlend learned from actor Garrett Wareing that the cast walked somewhere in the ballpark of 300 miles while filming the movie, which is quite a distance. Basically, there were some days during filming where they didn't have to act tired, with maybe the exception of Mark Hamill, who was on a vehicle and talking about Star Wars with the cast between takes.

So, not only can audiences get a sense of what it felt like to be in the fictional Long Walk, they'll also get a taste of what the cast experienced.

Now, you can walk to The Long Walk when it hits theaters on September 12th. I'm thrilled to finally see this movie after getting a taste of what all it entails at San Diego Comic-Con, and can't wait to see how others react to it as well.

Everybody has different tolerance levels and expectations from watching a film. There are some who want laughs, romance, and light entertainment… and there are others who love devastating drama and hardcore horror. Understanding where you exist on this scale can greatly enhance your watching habits, but there will always be certain titles that can challenge you. To use an example from the 2025 movie release calendar: do you think you’re ready to stomach the big screen experience of director Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk?

Addressing that question is the main subject of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but it’s not the exclusive subject, as the past few days in the world of Stephen King have also offered us some interesting insight from the author about one of his most beloved works: The Stand. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

The Long Walk Clip Features The Movie’s First Death, And It’s A Good Test To See If You Can Handle The Stephen King Adaptation

While The Long Walk is still a few weeks away from release, one of the most interesting developments in the entertainment world in the last few days has been the hype that has come with the lifting of the film’s embargo on social media reactions. Critics who have attended early screenings have greatly praised the upcoming Stephen King adaptation – and I personally was a voice in that chorus on Tuesday night. I can’t presently say much more about it than what I included in my reaction posts on BlueSky (be on the lookout for my full review here on CinemaBlend at the beginning of next month), but I can emphasize that this is not a movie for the faint of heart – and the first extended clip, which you can watch above, properly illustrates why.

For those of you who are a bit spoiler-phobic and/or haven’t read the book on which the film is based, this clip features the first death in the story – and it’s far from the last. The footage starts out calmly enough, with Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson) meeting Harkness (Jordan Gonzalez), who hopes to write a book about the Long Walk if he survives. The tone changes abruptly when the protagonists hear Curly (Roman Griffin Davis) let out yelps of pain: he has a charley horse, and despite assistance from his fellow competitors, he is unable to maintain a three mile-per-hour pace and faces the devastating consequences.

Knowing that there are even people on the CinemaBlend staff who can’t watch the trailer for The Long Walk without crying, I’d say that this clip provides a terrific litmus test for audiences to see whether or not they have the fortitude that is necessary for the specific cinematic experience that this film offers. A little over a year ago, screenwriter JT Mollner told me that there were no intentions to pull any punches with the adaptation, and this bit of footage is an effective preview. It is not pleasant to see the pain and desperation stretched across Curly’s face as his warnings stack up, and nothing is helped by the fact that the character is played by the wonderful young star of Jojo Rabbit, who specifically captivated audiences in the Taika Waititi movie with his innocence.

When he is ultimately killed for being unable to proceed in the competition, the camera doesn’t pan away, nor does the editing have us experience the moment solely via the reactions of the other characters. Instead, we explicitly see a soldier approach Curly, raise his gun to the boy’s head, and fire a bullet that travels at a downward trajectory to rip open the right side of his face. If you can’t deal with what this clip shows, then you may want to proverbially sit this one out. As graphic and horrific as this moment is, the reality is that it’s the tip of the iceberg as far as extreme content goes.

Based on the first novel that Stephen King ever completed and long thought to be unadaptable both because of its content and structure, The Long Walk is an exceptionally faithful adaptation of its source material that sees 50 teenage boys take part in what is essentially a death march masquerading as a contest. The hope is to be the last participant standing, winning both riches and the ability to make a personal wish – but winning also means witnessing the death of 49 people in your wake.

Do you think you’re ready? I promise you that you are not, but those of you who are nonetheless emotionally fortifying themselves in advance of the movie’s opening weekend are in for an unforgettable film. Also starring Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Mark Hamill and Judy Greer in addition to the aforementioned Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Jordan Gonzalez, and Roman Griffin Davis, The Long Walk will be arriving in theaters everywhere on September 12.

Stephen King Explains Why Has Never Been Happy With The End Of The Stand

The Stand is a special novel in the large expanse of the Stephen King canon for multiple reasons, but one of its most interesting qualities is that it’s a living document of sorts. When the book was first published in 1978, it was a heavily edited incarnation of the story, with about 400 pages cut from the original manuscript due to length – but King got to reintroduce that material when the version dubbed the “Complete and Uncut Edition” hit stores in 1990. The journey not ending there, he crafted a new draft of the apocalyptic tale when he took on teleplay duties for the 1994 miniseries that was directed by Mick Garris, and he wrote an original coda for the streaming limited series that began airing in 2020.

No other King novel has that kind of strange and evolving history – and that fact is made all the more interesting knowing that the author’s acknowledgement that he never been satisfied with the end of The Stand.

The brand new anthology The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand was officially released this past Tuesday (available in hardcover, as an ebook, and on audiobook), and while the tome is generally a must for any Constant Reader, one of its coolest aspects is an introduction that has King looking back at what is arguably his most epic single novel. It begins with him revisiting the book’s final scene with Stu Redman and Fran Goldsmith – the former asking if “people ever learn anything,” and the latter replying that she doesn’t know – and he explains that Fran’s struggle to say something more reflected his own when he was writing the scene.

He writes,

Going further, he explains that his frustration really only mounted with the Complete and Uncut Edition. As happy as he was about the book being restored to its full scope, he continued to find himself dissatisfied with Fran’s last words and still couldn’t come up with something better.

Stephen King explains that back in the mid-1980s, he had a vision of what Stu and Fran’s future together looked like– the couple making the decision to drive back to Maine, and Fran having her own personal encounter with Randall Flag along the way after falling down a well. But he also knew that he wanted to conclude The Stand with his characters still in Boulder, Colorado, and he eventually got his opportunity to tell that part of the story with the aforementioned coda in the 2020 series:

In some other instances, that may have been closure – but Stephen King says that the opportunity to craft the coda for the streaming series is partially what inspired him to approve The End of the World As We Know It as a concept. He admits that he initially balked at the idea of a collection of stories from different authors set in the canon of The Stand, thinking of it like tribute albums dedicated to artists who have passed on, but getting the chance to expand on his own work made him curious about other tales set in a world that has been ravaged by the horrible pandemic nicknamed Captain Trips.

Edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene, and featuring contributions from talented writers including Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Nat Cassidy, Bev Vincent, Richard Chizmar, Tim Lebbon and Catriona Ward, The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand is now available at retailers everywhere. My copy is in hand, and I’m terrifically excited to dive in.

That brings us to the end of this edition of The King Beat, but news and fun from the world of Stephen King never ceases, and you can be sure that I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with a brand new column highlighting the biggest headlines.

As we march closer to The Long Walk’s release on the 2025 movie schedule, first reactions are coming in, and they’re complimentary yet horrific. That makes sense for this film about a group of boys who are walking for their lives and will be killed if they stop. However, there’s more nuance to this general consensus. So, here’s what journalists are saying after the first screenings of the highly anticipated book-to-screen adaptation.

This upcoming Stephen King film is all about a group of boys who are sent out to walk for their lives. The trailers for The Long Walk alone are tragic, so it’s not a surprise that Francis Lawrence’s film packs an even heavier punch. Collider’s Perri Nemiroff noted that emotional intensity too, as she wrote on X:

She specifically gave “much respect” to the film’s screenwriter, JT Mollner, and its director, Lawrence, for “not holding back” when it came to showing just how dark and disturbing this story is. She also complimented the film’s “heart,” saying that while the subject matter is horrific, the project is still “soulful.”

CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg shared a similar sentiment on Blue Sky. He called this movie a “perfect adaptation” of the book that left him with a knot in his stomach, he wrote:

He specifically praised the film’s “excellent performances,” calling out the leads, Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, as well as Mark Hamill and Judy Greer.

Journalist Courtney Howard also praised Hoffman and Jonsson, writing on X that the two leading men on the walk were “exceptional.” She also compared this new and emotional film to classics like The Outsiders and Full Metal Jacket, writing:

“Exceptional” was also a term journalist Rendy Jones used to describe Hoffman and Jonsson’s performances. He called out The Long Walk’s R-rating too, noting that it allowed Lawrence to explore themes he’s addressed in The Hunger Games in an even more visceral and violent way. He wrote:

It cannot be understated that those who have seen this movie love it, but were also emotionally eviscerated by it. As someone who can’t even get through The Long Walk trailers, I already know I’ll be a mess. And after reading Inverse’s Lyvie Scott’s reaction, I’m 100% certain that will happen now:

Next Best Picture’s Matt Neglia’s reaction was a bit more critical than the above responses. However, he was still overall complimentary of the King adaptation, writing in part:

He called the “journey” “exhausting yet gripping,” and that seems to be the overall consensus among those who have already gone on The Long Walk.

Well, there you have it, first reactions are overwhelmingly positive for this upcoming horror movie, however, they also make it clear that viewers should proceed with caution if they go to the theaters on September 12. The Long Walk pulls no punches, and fully leans into its visceral, jarring and disturbing story while still having a heart, which is exactly what it needed to do to be great.

There’s a slew of upcoming Stephen King projects heading to the 2025 release schedule. The one I thought I was most excited for was the tonally intriguing Edgar Wright movie The Running Man with Glen Powell (and Michael Cera wreaking havoc with a water gun in the trailer). That all changed when I caught the trailer for The Long Walk. I honestly can’t get through it without losing my s–t, and I’m terrified of what’s coming when the movie hits the big screen.

The Long Walk Trailer Has Wrecked Me Repeatedly Now.

I’ve seen The Long Walk trailer three times now. Once, I screened it early while sitting next to a slew of journalists at Lionsgate’s CinemaCon 2025 presentation. Despite the professional setting, I cried. Once, I saw it ahead of a viewing of F1 and once I’ve now watched it on my computer. Every single time I’ve had a visceral reaction to the material. My eyes well up, yet I can’t tear them away from the screen. My stomach churns and my legs feel like jelly. I am literally horrified, and yet feel glued to my seat at the same time. If that was the intention, the movie has already succeeded.

The Long Walk follows a group of kids all walking an indeterminate distance for life-changing prize money. Only there’s one hitch: if you fall behind, you die. We’ve seen a scene where all of the kids walking seem to be spurring one another on. However, one young man is falling behind. A crack of a gun is heard. There’s another moment when one young man’s shoe comes loose and he's struggling to get it back on before things take a serious turn.

Every time I see the loose shoe, I’m internally screaming, ‘Get up! Get up!’ I've even dreamt about it. I've seen sub-five minutes of this movie so far, and I already feel scarred for life.

The Long Walk Source Material Is So Tough It Took A Long Time For The Movie To Get Made

The development of the flick has been a long time coming. We’ve previously explored the history of the film coming together in our The Long Walk guide, and various voices involved have explained how this movie felt insurmountable and completely unmakeable for years. At one point in the ‘80s, George Romero was reportedly attached. Frank Darabont held the rights for a while. André Øvredal was supposed to make it in 2019, but the project was dropped and we weren't bullish it would ever move forward.

Fifteen years ago or so, dystopian fiction also came to the forefront with content like The Walking Dead, The Hunger Games and even popular projects like Divergent. Still, The Long Walk was not made.

We’ve covered this tale before on CinemaBlend. How part of the problem seems to have been simply making a movie about kids trudging on and on for days. How part of the problem was the subject material, as JT Pollner, who wrote the movie, has called it “disturbing and somewhat controversial.” How another problem with The Long Walk was simply how much walking the cast had to do to actually film the movie. The cast told us that in order to have comparable scenery, they’d walk one route over and over at ¾ of a mile per take.

Whomever was in charge of continuity in this movie, I salute you. But I also salute the young men, who confirmed they walked over 300 miles during the making of The Long Walk.

I mentioned how this flick has really been sticking with me to my co-worker Eric Eisenberg, who also happens to be CinemaBlend’s Stephen King expert. This means that, yes, he’s read the 1979 source material the movie will be based on, and he told me even he’s “flabbergasted” The Long Walk got made. I haven’t read the book, and I don’t know its ending, but I get the impression I’m going to have a real gut-punch coming.

Plus, it strikes me that if I’m that emotional this early in, there’s only going to be more toil to come. If I can’t even handle three minutes of this film, how am I supposed to get through the film’s 108-minute runtime?

I’d say bring it on, Stephen King, but honestly, I’m too traumatized to confidently do that. The Long Walk will be here to ruin our days on September 12th.

2025 has been a great year for Stephen King fans who love adaptations, as quite a few of them are rolling out this year. The Long Walk's release should be one book-to-screen adaptation that many will be flocking to theaters to see, even if they'll probably be driving instead of walking. Director Francis Lawrence not only sought to make this movie that many in the past thought would be impossible, but he also felt it was incredibly necessary that it be crafted with an R-rating.

SFX Magazine had a chance to chat with Lawrence ahead of the film's September release and asked about the rating, as well as the need to make the movie exceptionally brutal. The director, who notably directed other dystopian thrillers like I Am Legend and The Hunger Games franchise, explained why he felt a need to make this an R-rated movie, and why there wasn't an option to make it any other way:

Beyond Stephen King's insistence the movie be as brutal as possible, Francis Lawrence wanted The Long Walk to look and feel as brutal as its source material. I daresay it was a necessary feat, as while book readers may tolerate a movie where the primary action the characters are doing is walking, a movie-going audience may not have the same tolerance.

On that note, Lawrence said:

Rest assured, as the trailer for The Long Walk showed no punches were pulled when it came to the heart-wrenching story of young men volunteering for a televised death march for a chance at being the sole winner. The person walking on the stump that used to be their foot was enough to make my stomach churn, and I'm sure that's not even the start of disturbing moments.

CinemaBlend learned from the cast at San Diego Comic-Con that the filming process was also brutal at points. Star Garrett Wareing revealed they walked around 300 miles filming the movie, most of which was resetting to their original marks between filming scenes. In any case, one would think it wasn't hard to fake exhaustion on those long days of shooting.

While The Long Walk isn't typical horror like other upcoming Stephen King adaptations, it sounds like Francis Lawrence is fully prepared to give audiences something to squirm and cringe over while this story unfolds. As he said above, it should be a "tough watch," and from what I know of the book, it certainly will be.

The Long Walk is in theaters on September 12th. Among the many upcoming 2025 movies, this remains one of my most-anticipated, and I can't wait to be so uncomfortable watching it.

In this absolutely magical year for Stephen King adaptations, the next movie set to arrive in theaters is now less than a month away. Constant Readers will have to be patient for Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, HBO’s IT: Welcome To Derry and MGM+’s The Institute, which are all premiering in the back half of 2025, but we are now just weeks away from the arrival of Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck. I had the chance to see it when it premiered last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival, and in meditating upon its upcoming release, I want to recognize how it’s a work that feels very much needed in what are extremely hostile times.

Those thoughts have come together as the lead headline of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but the past seven days have also brought us some interesting insight into the long history of adapting The Long Walk. There’s a whole lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

The Life Of Chuck Is A Joyful Film That Has Made Me Think About My Relationship With Anger

Before I go any further, I feel like I should address the fact that The Life Of Chuck isn’t really a novella/movie about anger. In fact, while anger is frequently a perfect catalyst for conflict in fiction, there really isn’t all that much of it in this story. And yet despite this absence, it represents how I’ve grown to think about that particular emotion in my adulthood, especially as there seems to be an endlessly increasing amount of it poisoning the world right now.

When I was a kid/adolescent, I got angry a lot. I came by it honestly as they say, my dad having been known to showcase a temper, and while I never expressed it with violence toward others, I had a short fuse and a high capacity for seething and rage. I retain a vivid memory of leaving a little league game: I realized I had misplaced some of my equipment, and I proceeded to punch the ground repeatedly and hard enough to sprain the pinkie-side of my left hand. Part of the reason I remember it so clearly is because it still takes me a little extra effort to fully extend the finger that took most of the brunt.

Maturity helped rid me of some of my anger, but it was through adult experience that I began to really see a different side of it. Without delving into unnecessary details, I had separate incidents of being new levels of pissed off with two of my friends. I was brimming with indignation as I felt used, underappreciated and ignored, and worst of all, I knew that it was intentional. I could only perceive spite and hurt in their actions, and my brain told me that they knew exactly what was going on and what they were doing.

My brain is a fucking idiot. When my huff got extreme enough to motivate confrontation, my feeling in the aftermath was foolishness. While I had been “sure” of a number of things, I was blinded to other possibilities, and there certainly was no ill intent. As we are all guilty of doing, I solely perceived the situation through the narrow filter of my own experience, and I vastly underappreciated the infinite complexity of my friends’ own lives and experiences.

This brings me back to The Life Of Chuck. As noted, it isn’t a story about anger, but it is about the special worlds we each create and inhabit with our own existences. We all live together, but the people we meet, the relationships we forge, the places we see and the things we do all contribute to the unique ways each of us see the world. To paraphrase the quote that Stephen King uses frequently in the novella (and Mike Flanagan likewise uses frequently in the adaptation), we contain multitudes.

The Life Of Chuck unfurls in reverse chronological order and in three distinct chapters. The first is about the apocalypse. A teacher, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, navigates a world that is crumbing (in the case of massive sinkholes randomly appearing, quite literally), and he is confounded to see all manner of advertising with the image of a bespectacled man and the message, “39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!”

This man is Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston), who, as he is dying from a brain tumor at the age of 39, the expansive universe that has been created from his existence is ending.

In the second and third chapters of The Life Of Chuck, we understand how that universe was formed. The former captures a singular experience of the man shortly before the diagnosis that will change his life, as he finds himself caught up in the beat produced by a busker drummer and finds himself captivating an audience as he dances with a lovely stranger (Annalise Basso). In the latter, we witness his coming of age as he finds his passions in life – both thanks to his loving grandparents (Mark Hamill, Mia Sara) and engaged teachers at his school(Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan).

The bad news is that none of us can ever fully comprehend the ever-expanding universes that exist within others – even in the closest relationships. What’s absolutely vital, however, is that we all at least recognize that those independent universes exist and don’t solely view reality exclusively from our relatively narrow perspectives.

A true failure to do this has led to an exceptional amount of rage in our world today. Prejudices and biases color all of our discourse, as people are divided into groups instead of being seen as individuals. Resentment can fester when people see what others have and get without understanding what they lack and have had taken from them. An innocuous social media post can be deemed ignorant because it fails to acknowledge an obscure detail. Circumstance is constantly mistaken for intent, and we are all so sure that we know exactly what is going on in the minds of others.

Of course, it needs to be acknowledged that righteous anger is not just a myth. There is no doubt that there are people in the world who act with cruelty in front of mind, and they don’t just fail to understand the wonder of human complexity; they purposefully ignore it. But it’s these individuals who need to be the target of your rage, instead of the delivery driver who dropped your package at your front door instead of placing it. Or the waiter who takes an extra minute to bring you your food. Or the customer service representative who is only given a limited number of options to try and assist you with your problem. They are all just living their own boundlessly complicated, messy lives, just like you.

It shouldn’t take seeing a movie to understand this important aspect of existence, but if that’s where we are at, then The Life Of Chuck is definitely a perfect film for our current moment – and you’ll be able to catch it in limited release starting June 6 before it expands to theaters nationwide on June 13.

The Long Walk Director Reveals The 2025 Movie Is His Second Attempt At Making The Stephen King Adaptation

As far as getting adapted is concerned, The Long Walk has had more false starts than most Stephen King books. Following the novel’s original publication in 1979 (sporting King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman), many filmmakers tried to bring the dystopian horror to the big screen, but their efforts never resulted in a feature that got the green light to go into production. Director Francis Lawrence has succeeded where the likes of George A. Romero, Frank Darabont and André Øvredal failed – but what you probably don’t know is that Lawrence’s film is technically his second go-around with the project.

In advance of The Long Walk trailer that arrived online yesterday (which you can watch above), Vanity Fair published a preview of the upcoming Stephen King movie, and it includes a great bit of trivia about the book’s time in Hollywood’s notorious development hell. Long before Francis Lawrence teamed up with screenwriter J.T. Mollner to make the film that we will be arriving in theaters this fall, the director previously tried to make an adaptation with screenwriter/producer Akiva Goldsman. It didn’t work out, but not because of his vision or studios being wary of the source material’s extreme grimness. Said Lawrence,

Francis Lawrence went on to make a very different kind of movie as his follow-up to I Am Legend – the circus-centric romantic drama Water For Elephants – but has earned both acclaim and fans for his work in dystopian fiction, directing the last four movies in the Hunger Games franchise. One could make the argument that his developed genre familiarity alongside his positive working relationship with Lionsgate is what allowed things to properly click into place and get an adaptation of The Long Walk made.

Featuring a cast including Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Judy Greer and Mark Hamill (as the villainous Major), the titular competition in The Long Walk sees a collection of teenage boys participate in what is essentially a death march. The competitors have to maintain a three-mile-per-hour pace in the last-man-standing contest, and slowing down or stopping means receiving a warning. If they receive three warnings within an hour, the consequence is a bullet to the head. The trailer makes the film look just as grim and powerful as the Stephen King novel on which it’s based, and I’m terrifically excited to see it when it arrives in theaters this September.

That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat, but I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with my latest roundup of big news from the world of Stephen King. Meanwhile, you can explore the long history of adaptations in both film and television with my series Adapting Stephen King.

There are a lot of upcoming book adaptations on the way, but the one I’m most hyped about lately is the movie version of the latest Hunger Games novel, Sunrise on the Reaping. Not only does the book itself have fans thinking about seeing specific moments on the big screen, but the casting updates so far have been absolutely on point. (Did you see who they picked to play a younger version of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character?) But apparently Sam Claflin, who memorably played Finnick Odair in the original movies, is just as excited as we are about the prequel.

Sam Claflin’s Finnick Odair won’t be in Sunrise on the Reaping on account of the character not being born yet during Haymitch’s games. However, the actor recently shared that he just met with the movie’s director Francis Lawrence, and Hunger Games of course came up. In his words:

While speaking to Variety, Claflin revealed that it wasn’t long ago when he had lunch with Lawrence as the filmmaker prepares to make his fifth Hunger Games movie in Germany. The pair first met over a decade ago when Lawrence cast Claflin as Finnick Odair, and apparently they are still very much connected.

Look, I know that a Finnick Odair Hunger Games prequel hasn’t been announced, but these comments are a solid reminder that there’s been a huge call for it over the years. When Haymitch’s story was announced, fans were quick to advocate for it, and in the past, Francis Lawrence has even name-dropped Finnick before when discussing which other character origins he'd like to explore. Here’s what else Clafin had to say as the new Hunger Games gets ready to start filming:

Sam Claflin also said he’s a “huge lover and a fan of the world” author Suzanne Collins created with The Hunger Games, and “can’t help but feel attached to it.” Catching Fire was one of the British actor’s first after starting on other big-budget films in his 20s, like Snow White and the Huntsman and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Of course, before Claflin was even cast, the character of Finnick Odair was a hugely beloved fan-favorite character from The Hunger Games books, but the actor’s casting has only added to that. After Claflin’s words about his love of the films, and his contribution to them, I only want to see a Finnick prequel more.

Sure, Claflin wouldn’t necessarily be the lead of it considering it would probably be about the character’s games when he was 14, but the actor has spoken about how “Finnick deserved better” in the past. The character getting his own movie feels like the best way to remedy this.

The No. 1 bestselling novel right now is currently one of the most exciting upcoming book adaptations being made into a movie, and I can’t wait for casting announcements to start to drop. I’m of course talking about the next Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, which is set to hit theaters in fall 2026. After the director shared new details about it at CinemaCon this week, he revealed the reason why we don’t know who’s playing young Haymitch yet.

During the Lionsgate CinemaCon Panel on Tuesday in Las Vegas, Francis Lawrence, who has helmed all the Hunger Games movies prior except for the first, unveiled the movie logo for the new movie along with talking about how it will be a “return to form” from the trilogy. However, it’s a bit surprising that the production wouldn’t use the event as a moment to present the movie’s lead, isn’t it? Here’s what Lawrence had to say:

When the filmmaker spoke to Entertainment Tonight backstage at CinemaCon, he shared that they hadn't been able to get started on casting the role of Haymitch until a couple of weeks ago due to the novel not being out yet. Now that the book is out in the world, the proverbial handcuffs are off, and we should expect to find out who Haymitch will be in the prequel very soon. Francis Lawrence also shared:

Lawrence had the chance to work with Woody Harrelson’s memorable portrayal of Haymitch during the original Hunger Games movies when the character was an advisor to Katniss and Peeta. This time, audiences will get to see Haymitch’s heartbreaking Games during the second Quarter Quell for the big screen, and it has all sorts of connections to the original books.

Months prior to the novel being released, fans have already been trying to fancast the character, with House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn Carney being a popular pick. We’ll certainly have to wait and see. When it came to the previous Hunger Games movies, a mix of unknowns and established stars have been cast in the franchise before.

In Sunrise on the Reaping, Haymitch is 16 years old, so they are looking for a much younger actor than some of the ideas out there. The movie is set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026. Over the next few months, we expect to learn a lot more about the cast.

We're at the Lionsgate Panel at CinemaCon Las Vegas, and we just got a first look at the new Hunger Games movie, Sunrise on the Reaping. During the event, director Francis Lawrence, who has also directed every movie out of the franchise (except for the first one) shared with the audience what's going on with one of the most exciting upcoming book adaptations.

Suzanne Collins' Sunrise On The Reaping novel has only been out in the world for (exactly) two weeks, but since the movie and book were announced at the same time over summer, the production has a head start. Take a look at the official animated logo for the 2026 release:

Along with this awesome reveal of the novel's logo come to life, Francis Lawrence also got excited by sharing how the movie is more inspired by the original trilogy. While he loved working on the last prequel Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, he called this upcoming movie a "return to form," especially because it's "much later in the timeline" where the arena is "spectacular" and "visual". Lawrence also called it his "favorite book of the series."

Sunrise On The Reaping takes place during Haymitch's games, which is the 50th Hunger Games, aka the 2nd Quarter Quell. Considering Katniss and Peeta were part of the 74th and 75th games, and the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 10th Hunger Games, it makes a lot of sense that Lawrence will be jumping into the grander visual feast from the original trilogy. It sounds like he's really excited to get out of the early days of Panem and make another huge blockbuster. We'll be seeing a 40-year jump from President Snow's origin story.

In addition to Sunrise on the Reaping being a "return" to the vibe of the first movies starring Jennifer Lawrence, it's also the Quarter Quell, which is the games where twice as many tributes were plucked from the districts to fight to the death. Haymitch Abernathy is a District 12 tribute who must fight for his life and along the way he meets all sorts of names that fans of the original will recognize from the trilogy and prequel.

As someone who's in the middle of the novel, Haymitch's backstory is definitely not what I was expecting and revealed to be much more tragic and different than how we hear about his games during Katniss and Peeta's games. Of course, we're curious about who will be cast as Haymitch, especially after both Cobra Kai's Tanner Buchanan was fancast along with House of the Dragon's Tom Glynn-Carney.

There's also been some past rumors that Chalengers' Mike Faist could have been secretly cast to play Plutarch Heavensbee. We expect casting to be the next step we'll hear about so stay tuned!

We are in the midst of one of the biggest years of all time for new Stephen King adaptations. In February, audiences were delighted to experience the madness of Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey; Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man are both set to hit theaters in the coming months; and on the small screen, both HBO’s IT: Welcome To Derry and MGM+’s The Institute are set to premiere before December. That’s a hell of a lot, but now the slate has gotten even more exciting with the addition of Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk.

Lionsgate hosted its presentation this morning at CinemaCon – the annual Las Vegas-based convention for theater owners – and among the awesome news shared is that The Long Walk, based on the book of the same name, is going to arrive in theaters everywhere on September 12. The film completed production last year and Stephen King fans have spent months waiting for release date news, so this is a terrifically exciting development. It should be one hell of a hardcore cinematic experience.

Originally published under Stephen King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is a dystopian novel that centers on a grueling, deadly competition. Teenagers from around the country gather as participants in the contest – which is essentially a death march. Walking along a long stretch of highway, they have to spend days walking at a constant pace. If they slow down or stop, they get a warning, and if they get three warnings within an hour (or try to escape), they are shot dead by soldiers. The last kid standing wins the prize of their dreams.

JT Mollner, who wrote and directed the critically acclaimed horror film Strange Darling in 2024, wrote the screenplay, and the impressive ensemble cast of The Long Walk includes Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, with Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill.

The new release date for the thriller puts it on the release calendar between The Life Of Chuck (which will be released by Neon in the summer) and The Running Man, which will be in theaters on November 7.

The Long Walk should be one hell of a thing to witness on the big screen, as this is an adaptation that many filmmakers have tried and failed to make – including legends George A. Romero and Frank Darabont. When Stephen King read the script, his reaction was. “This is great, but they’ll never fucking make this,” but Lionsgate gave it the green light. JT Mollner has promised that the film won’t be pulling any punches from the horrifying source material and has described it as a “disturbing and somewhat controversial movie.” I’m beyond excited to see it.

This is just one of the exciting bits of news to come out of the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon, and CinemaBlend is on the ground covering the event all week. Be on the lookout for more news and updates about the 2025 movie release schedule, and for all of the latest developments in the world of Stephen King, be sure to check out my weekly column The King Beat, which goes live here on the site every Thursday.

Fans of Keanu Reeves’ Constantine were pleasantly surprised when it was announced back in 2022 that the movie would be getting a long-awaited sequel. The 2005 original seemed to only get more popular as time has gone on, and yet, following the original announcement, we’ve heard very little about the status of Constantine 2.

Those same excited fans would be forgiven for believing that Constantine 2 would be forever stuck in development hell. And yet, Francis Lawrence, who directed the original movie and is set to return for the sequel, recently told Collider that the sequel is currently closer to becoming reality than it has ever been. He said…

It sounds like while there certainly hasn’t been much public discussion of the movie, the writer, director and star have continued to work on the project over the last couple of years. Late last year, we did learn that there is apparently a script for Constantine 2. While it’s unclear if the script is done, Lawrence revealed a bit about its inspiration, saying…

Constantine 2 may be taking some inspiration from the comics, but it sounds like the team is mostly looking to do their own thing. While that might seem like a decision that would really upset fans, it’s actually perfectly in line with the first movie. The casting of Keanu Reeves as John Constantine was originally met with derision, and the fact that the first movie wasn’t a particularly faithful adaptation certainly didn’t go unnoticed by fans or critics.

Still, Constantine has become something of a cult classic for a reason. Those fans have ultimately come to appreciate the movie that it is, so making another the same way is likely the best way for the sequel to be successful.... even if Keanu does decide to go blonde in the sequel.

There are still a lot of details left to iron out. For example, will Constantine 2 be part of James Gunn's DCU? We also still have no idea when Constantine 2 will actually start filming, never mind actually hit theaters, but it is looking like those things will happen, and perhaps sooner than we thought.

The first new Stephen King movie of 2025 is almost here. In just a little over a week, Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey will be arriving in theaters, and that means you have the perfect amount of time to start preparing yourself for a wildly gory and outrageously entertaining time. It’s a fantastic adaptation of its short story source material, but it’s also very much a love letter to the legendary author, and that’s very much reflected in Perkins’ recent revelation about the film’s original title.

I had the chance to interview Osgood Perkins late last week, and it was while discussing his personal relationship with Stephen King’s work and the various references in the movie that he told me about both The Monkey’s original title and the major way that the setting changed over the course of development. That story leads this week’s edition of The King Beat – but I also have an update for all you Constant Readers about the film adaptation of The Long Walk, so without further ado, let’s dig in!

Osgood Perkins Reveals The Original Title And Setting For The Monkey And Discusses His Personal Relationship With Stephen King’s Work

The Monkey is unlike any Stephen King adaptation we’ve ever seen before, both in terms of volume of gore and its extreme humor, but it’s very much rooted in a deep appreciation for the author’s work. While I won’t spoil anything for you pre-release, I will note that there are nods and references all over the place, and its existence as a tribute formerly extended to its title as well, as Osgood Perkins long wanted to have the official title be Stephen King’s The Monkey.

The filmmaker told me that his goal with the adaptation was to capture a certain all-encompassing vibe of Stephen King’s work, and that original title was intended as a way of setting up the experience. He further tried to represent the energy of the horror auteur in early drafts by making it a period film, but that was an idea that he ultimately decided to put aside. Said Perkins,

Setting the movie in the 1950s (a.k.a. the decade of “The Body”/Stand By Me) and the 1980s (a.k.a. the era of many early Stephen King classics) could have been fish in a barrel move in Osgood Perkins’ mission to honor the author. Hell, the 1950s and 1980s are also notably the key time periods in IT. As The Monkey developed, however, the writer/director felt that approach had already been done – he specifically name-dropped Stranger Things – and decided to go 1990s/2020s with the story.

Perkins told me that he hasn’t read all of Stephen King’s work (he specifically cited regret over having not read IT yet), but his history with the author’s stories goes back to his childhood and seeing his father – legendary actor Anthony Perkins – with copies of King’s books. He recalls being particularly entranced by one tome, telling me,

Continuing, Osgood Perkins explained that Stephen King’s writing also opened his eyes to the versatility of horror as a genre. He has a deep affection for Creepshow (which is notably the film that most closely matches The Monkey in terms of tone), and he also recalls a special revelation he had when he read Misery for the first time:

Being entertained by horror and having a good time is very much what The Monkey is all about, and you’ll soon be able to experience it for yourself. The film, starring Theo James, Christian Convery, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy, arrives in theaters next Friday, February 21, and you should be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more interviews with Osgood Perkins and the cast.

Director Francis Lawrence Provides Stephen King Fans With An Update On The Status Of The Long Walk

As I’ve noted a lot in previous columns, Stephen King fans are being spoiled in 2025. The Monkey is the first of five adaptations set to be released this year – the others being the films The Life Of Chuck and The Running Man and the two TV shows HBO’s IT: Welcome To Derry and MGM+’s The Institute. That being said, it feels ok to be greedy for more, knowing that Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk has completed production, and the director recently provided an update on the status of the movie.

Produced and set to be distributed by Lionsgate, the King feature started and completed principal photography in the second half of 2024, and Lawrence has revealed to Collider that the film isn’t totally done, but it’s nearing that point. He told the site that he will soon be traveling to London to oversee the scoring sessions, but he also added that “the cut is for the most part locked.”

Based on the book of the same name that Stephen King originally published under his pen name Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is a dystopian novel that centers on a competition that is essentially a death march. Teenage contestants have to walk and maintain a constant pace for as long as they possibly can; slowing down or stopping incurs warnings, and if anyone receives three warnings within an hour, soldiers monitoring the contest execute them. The last kid surviving wins a dream prize.

JT Mollner wrote the screenplay for the upcoming film, and he described the movie last summer as being as “hardcore” and “disturbing” as the source material. Stephen King loved his script, and he maintains shock that the project made it into production. It’s a story that many filmmakers, including George A. Romero and Frank Darabont, tried and failed to adapt, but Francis Lawrence has gotten further than anyone.

The filmmaker spoke to both The Long Walk’s history and his own personal history with the book and the adaptation in the recent interview, saying,

The Long Walk does indeed feature a collection of fantastic actors, including Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill. Hopefully we’ll get news soon about a release date for the film soon (perhaps at CinemaCon in late March/early April?), and if it’s not set for release in this calendar year, fingers are crossed it arrives in early 2026.

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but as always, I’ll be back next Thursday with a new column (and it will be a special one given the forthcoming arrival of The Monkey). In the meantime, you can educate yourself about all of the various film and television adaptations of the beloved authors work via my series Adapting Stephen King.

The Hunger Games' main film series would end with Mockingjay: Part 2, but there are still plenty of Panem-based stories left to tell. The next character to take center stage is Haymitch Abernathy, who fans surely know as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta. His tribute days will soon be told in the book and upcoming prequel film of the same name, Sunrise on the Reaping. As a fan, I'm psyched for the new movie and, after hearing director Francis Lawrence's update, there's one particular detail I'm really pumped about.

As the box office favored the first Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it seems audiences are still eager to see more installments in this franchise. It was previously announced that Suzanne Collins' Sunrise on the Reaping would be released in March, and it was exciting to hear that director Francis Lawrence would adapt the book. The filmmaker recently discussed the film's progress with Collider, and it sounds like everything is moving right along:

This exciting update doubles down a particularly exciting fact for me. Considering the production schedule for Sunrise on the Reaping, fans can look forward to the shortest gap between book publication and its film adaptation in this franchise's history. It’s one thing to have a plan laid out for a book that’s been out for a while. However, it's something else entirely for a theatrical take on a novel to be in the works before the source material has actually hit shelves.

Of course, because Sunrise on the Reaping isn’t out yet, that presents some logistical hurdles for Francis Lawrence and his collaborators. Lawrence went on to explain the “tricky” aspect of planning the film compared to the series' other installments:

I'm so stoked to read the book and learn more about Haymitch’s early life as teenage District 12 tribute. Woody Harrelson played him to perfection in the original four films, and I'm curious as to who'll play his young counterpart in the prequel. So far, fans have called for Cobra Kai star Tanner Buchanan to play Haymitch. Another candidate is House of the Dragon actor Tom Glynn-Carney, who seems to be down for it.

As for the novel, some of the book’s heartbreaking details have been divulged via a Chapter One excerpt that was released. It centers on Haymitch being reaped for the Second Quarter Quell on his birthday and reveals he had a girlfriend named Lenore. On the whole, details are scarce, but I feel like we have a tear-jerker of a movie on the way.

Given that production isn’t expected to start until June, Francis Lawrence and the rest of the crew have three months to dig deep in Suzanne Collins’ latest book. Once fans read Sunrise on the Reaping, they'll surely have a better idea of what to expect from the new movie.

So, if you're a fan like me, you should take comfort in the fact that after you finish the book, you won't have to wait that long for the accompanying film adaption to hit cinemas. More immediately, though, I know I'll be heading to my local bookstore when the novel arrives. Sunrise on the Reaping is set for release on March 18th with its film adaptation currently set to hit theaters on November 20, 2026.

There are always multiple upcoming Stephen King movie and TV projects in development, and one of the most exciting adaptations currently in the works is the big screen take on The Long Walk. Unlike a lot of the author’s other novels, it is a King book that has never been adapted before… but not for a lack of trying. This new take, however, has successfully made it through the development and pre-production stages, and will be soon heading to a theater near you.

But what can audiences expect from The Long Walk? When is it coming out? Who is making it? I’ll answer all of those questions and more in this feature, and be sure to keep checking back in the coming weeks and months, as I’ll be adding updates as new details about the movie are revealed.

What Is The Long Walk Release Date?

Cameras started rolling on The Long Walk in late July 2024 up in Manitoba, Canada, with Lionsgate producing the film and set to distribute it domestically, but the studio has not announced an official release date or confirmed even a release year for the adaptation.

If it does end up becoming part of the cinematic calendar for 2025, it will be one of six Stephen King projects projected to arrive – the others being writer/director Osgood Perkins’ adaptation of The Monkey (which arrived in theaters in February), the HBO IT prequel series Welcome To Derry, Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck, Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man, and the MGM+ show The Institute.

What Is The Long Walk Story?

Originally published in 1979, The Long Walk is set in a dystopian America where the eponymous event is one of the nation’s most popular sources of entertainment. The competition sees a collection of 100 teenage boys compete in an endurance test with life-or-death stakes. The last boy standing wins cash and a dream prize, but those who are eliminated from the contest are killed.

The young competitors have to maintain a constant four mile per hour pace as they march along U.S. Route 1 starting at the Canada-Maine border. Slowing down or stopping results in a warning, though warnings can be cleared after a warning-free hour. If a walker collects three warnings and continues to fall behind, or if he tries to abandon The Long Walk at any time, he is shot by a member of the militarized secret police that organizes and monitors the event.

Protagonist Ray Garraty has a special edge on the other volunteers in the “game,” as he hails from Maine and is cheered on by spectators as a hometown hero. He gets to know the other boys to pass the time as they all walk, with everyone acknowledging everyone else as opposition, but as they continue, traumas stack up and they all begin to mentally crack.

The Long Walk has some special history in the Stephen King canon for multiple reasons. For one thing, while Carrie is remembered as the first King novel to be published, The Long Walk is the first one that he ever completed writing – having penned it when he was a freshman at the University of Maine (per the afterward in the collection Full Dark, No Stars). It’s also notably a part of the collection known as the Bachman Books: the tomes that King had published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman (the others being The Running Man, Road Work, Rage, Thinner, The Regulators and Blaze).

The Long Walk Cast Incudes Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Judy Greer And Mark Hamill

The various parts played by the cast of The Long Walk have not been confirmed, but there are certainly a lot of exciting names attached to the film.

Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson were the first two actors to signed on to the movie, with their deals being announced in June 2024. Hoffman, the son of the great Philip Seymour Hoffman, is best known for playing the lead in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, and Jonsson’s credits include the wonderful romantic drama Rye Lane and the Fede Álvarez's sci-fi horror Alien: Romulus.

The supporting cast filled out a few weeks later with Deadline reporting the additions of Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit), Charlie Plummer (Spontaneous), Garrett Wareing (Manifest), Tut Nyuot (Dark Money), Ben Wang (Mean Girls), Jordan Gonzalez (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin), and Joshua Odjick (IT: Welcome To Derry).

The biggest names in the ensemble are Mark Hamill and Judy Greer, who both have past Stephen King adaptation experience. Hamill has an uncredited role in Mick Garris’ Sleepwalkers (based on the first original screenplay King ever wrote) and has a key supporting part in The Life Of Chuck. Greer previous played gym teacher Ms. Desjardin in Kimberly Peirce’s 2013 remake of Carrie.

The Long Walk Is Being Directed By Francis Lawrence And Written By JT Mollner

Francis Lawrence knows a thing or two about adapting dystopian fiction, having sat in the director’s chair in the making of the last three Hunger Games movies, and he’ll be bringing his talents to the development of The Long Walk. Thanks to his time contributing to the Hunger Games franchise (most recently with the hit The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes), he has a long and positive relationship with Lionsgate. He first revealed he was working on the project in November 2023.

Teaming with the filmmaker on the Stephen King adaptation will be screenwriter JT Mollner, who has penned the script for The Long Walk as his follow-up to the 2024 horror movie Strange Darling (which he both wrote and directed).

Another prominent name behind the scenes of the upcoming film is producer Roy Lee, who optioned the rights to Stephen King’s book. The Long Walk will not be the first King adaptation that Lee has made, but instead, it is simply the latest. His other credits include Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, Andy Muschietti’s IT duology, and the miniseries remake of The Stand that premiered in 2020. He is also currently developing a remake of Cujo for Netflix.

The Long Walk Screenwriter Says The Film Won’t Be Pulling Any Punches, Will Be Rated R

Given that The Long Walk features teenagers participating in what is essentially a suicide by death march, a proper adaptation would be a seriously disturbing cinematic experience… and audiences should start girding themselves now, because that’s exactly what we are going to get. In an interview with CinemaBlend in July 2024, JT Mollner confirmed the movie will not be “pulling any punches” in bringing King’s book to the big screen. He said:

It would be impossible to properly bring The Long Walk into live-action without it being an adults-only big screen event, and that is what Francis Lawrence and JT Mollner are making together.

As noted earlier, I’ll continue to update this feature as we get closer and closer to the release of The Long Walk and learn more about where it will fit in the long legacy of Stephen King adaptations. Stay tuned for news here on CinemaBlend, and you can keep track of all the scary movies that are heading to theaters and streaming with our Upcoming Horror Movies guide.

As I acknowledge with every new edition of The King Beat, there isn’t a week that goes by without some kind of significant events in the world of Stephen King, and in the last seven days, arguably the biggest development has been the on-going production of director Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk. After getting the greenlight last fall, the film has started production up in Manitoba, Canada with a cast including Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Mark Hamill and Judy Greer. The movie is based on a King book that’s never been adapted before – and for this week’s column, I have a special treat for all of you who have been patiently anticipating it.

Yesterday, I had the wonderful pleasure of interviewing filmmaker JT Mollner, who has written the screenplay for The Long Walk as his follow-up to the upcoming horror movie Strange Darling (which will be arriving in theaters on August 23). He provided me with some wonderful insight into the making of the new Stephen King film, and I’m sure that all of what he has to say will excite fans who love the source material. Let’s dig in!

The Long Walk Screenwriter Promises That The Movie Is Going To Be Just As Intense As The Stephen King Book

Let me put this as bluntly as I can: Stephen King’s The Long Walk is a fucked up book. First published in 1979 with King’s Richard Bachman pseudonym, the dystopian tale centers on a collection of teenage boys who take part in a popular competition that is essentially a death march – the last contestant left alive at the end promised money and a dream prize. It’s an emotionally brutal read… and it’s soon going to be adapted as an emotionally brutal movie.

One of my greatest curiosities about The Long Walk movie has been in regard to the way in which the film would adapt the tone of the book, and per JT Mollner, audiences should start bracing themselves now. The screenwriter told me that it was important to not only him and Francis Lawrence that the film capture the darkness of the book, but Stephen King as well. Said the filmmaker,

In The Long Walk, protagonist Ray Garraty is one of 100 teenagers who compete in the titular contest. The rules state that walkers must maintain a pace of at least four miles per hour, and slowing down or stopping means being penalized with a warning. If a boy collects three warnings and fails to increase his pace (or he tries to make an escape), he gets shot by the secret police agents that are following along.

With rules like that, one could understand that softening the edges would be a big challenge for the filmmakers… but there is no edge softening going on. Mollner noted that there are changes being made, but there are no compromises for palatability:

In short, you may want to start emotionally girding yourselves now.

‘Is This Movie Cursed?’: JT Mollner Reveals How He Came To Write The Long Walk And The Ups And Downs Of Pre-Production

It should be noted that this is not the first time that Hollywood has tried to produce an adaptation of The Long Walk. In the past, George A. Romero and Frank Darabont individually had visions that never made it to production, and there was a version set to be helmed by André Øvredal in the last few years that couldn’t make it to the finish line. So what makes this new version special? Per Mollner,

The Long Walk is the latest King project to be produced by Roy Lee, with other credits including Andy Muschietti’s IT duology, Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep and The Stand miniseries. It was Lee who brought Mollner aboard for his latest movie, as he felt that the screenwriter would be a good fit to work with Francis Lawrence:

It was about a week later that he met and clicked with Lawrence, and the project was set up to be produced and distributed by Lionsgate… but then the writer’s strike happened:

While the writer’s strike in 2023 forced development of The Long Walk to hit pause, the project ultimately had the chance to move quickly once the labor battle was settled. Unlike what happened with past attempted adaptations, the stars properly aligned for the movie. Mollner explained,

The screenwriter specifically cited the enthusiasm of the executive at Lionsgate helping to shepherd the project, adding,

As noted at the start, principal photography has commenced in Manitoba, Canada – and it’s already been an interesting experience.

The Long Walk Is Being Filmed In Sequence, And The Actors Will Be Getting A Serious Workout

On top of the treatment of the story and the long history of getting an adaptation made, The Long Walk has long fascinated me as a logistical challenge for a film production. The vast majority of the book is just characters constantly walking, and that means that the actors in the movie are going to be getting a serious cardiovascular exercise. Mollner confirmed as much when I spoke with him this week.

When I asked about the workout that the young actors will be getting during principal photography, the screenwriter told me that he recently attempted to keep pace with them during a production day, and he felt the burn:

The writer also revealed another aspect of the shoot that is fascinating: The Long Walk is being shot in sequence. Actors will be naturally fresh-faced at the start of the movie, and he expects that they will undergo a physical transformation before the end. Said Mollner,

I haven’t seen a shot of this film yet, and I’m already planning on comparing screenshots of the characters from the beginning and the end.

That wraps up this edition of The King Beat (couldn’t squeeze in a Recommendation Of The Week for this one!), but I’ll be back with a new feature next Thursday – which will include another special treat. Be on the lookout for the column, and in the meantime, you can learn about the full history of Stephen King movies and TV shows with my series Adapting Stephen King.

Prior to last year, Mark Hamill had what could be referred to as minimal experience in the realm of Stephen King movies. In 1992, he had an uncredited role in director Mick Garris' Sleepwalkers (based on an original screenplay by King), and that was the full extent of his connection to the author. In 2023, that connection expanded when Hamill signed on to star in writer/director Mike Flanagan's upcoming adaptation of The Life Of Chuck, and now he seems to be on a King streak, as it has been announced that he is set to star in the new film The Long Walk.

Directed by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes) and written by JT Mollner (the upcoming horror movie Strange Darling), The Long Walk began production earlier this week in Manitoba, Canada, and in addition to adding Mark Hamill to the cast, the film has also added Judy Greer. We don't officially know who the actors will be playing, but given that there aren't many adult characters in the book, it doesn't feel difficult to speculate that Greer is playing Mrs. Garraty (the mother of protagonist Ray Garraty) and Hamill will portray The Major – the principal antagonist who oversees the titular dystopian competition.

Based on the book of the same name, which was originally published by Stephen King under his pseudonym Richard Bachman, the story follows a collection of teenage boys who have agreed to participate in The Long Walk: a deadly endurance competition that sees the last competitor left standing win a dream prize. Once the "game" starts, the teens must maintain a constant walking pace along a highway and there are no breaks; warnings are issued for slowing down or stopping, and collecting three warnings (or trying to escape) results in execution.

Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson were the first two actors to sign on to star in The Long Walk, but the cast has filled out significantly since their involvement was announced in June. In addition to Mark Hamill and Judy Greer, the film is also set to feature Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis, Spontaneous’ Charlie Plummer, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, and Joshua Odjick (as reported in this week's edition of The King Beat).

In addition to his upcoming Stephen King movies, Mark Hamill has recently been doing a number of voice roles – including reprising his role as The Joker in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part Three and playing a character named Thorn in the upcoming animated film The Wild Robot (which will be in theaters on September 27).

For Judy Greer, this will be her second Stephen King adaptation, as she previously played gym teacher Ms. Desjardin in the 2013 remake of Carrie. In addition to The Long Walk, the actress' upcoming slate includes the family friendly holiday comedy The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (set for release on November 8).

Previous attempted adaptations of The Long Walk spent years in development hell (George A. Romero first tried to make it into a movie back in the late 1980s), but now the project is set up at Lionsgate and is becoming a reality. The movie doesn't yet have a release date, but stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about the Stephen King project.

There are a ton of promising upcoming video game movies and TV shows coming to theaters and several of the best streaming services in the next couple of years, and we’ll soon see several iconic franchises reach new audiences. One of those adaptations, Netflix’s BioShock movie, is one that longtime fans of the sci-fi/horror/action game series have spent many years hoping for. However, several years after the project was announced, we're still pretty much in the dark aboutwhen it’s coming out. Or even what it’ll be about, for that matter.

That said, we have taken a deep dive into this long-in-the-works adaptation of one of the 21st century’s best and most inventive games, and pulled together some key quotes from the creatives working behind the scenes for a comprehensive look at where things are now. Here’s everything said so far about Netflix’s BioShock movie. 

There Were Plans To Make A BioShock Movie Long Before Netflix Got Involved, But It Ultimately Fell Through

Before getting into the Netflix BioShock movie, let’s first go back more than a decade-and-a-half and dissect the original plan to turn the successful video game into a massive theatrical release. In May 2008, Variety reported that Universal Studios had signed a deal with publisher Take-Two Interactive to bring BioShock, which had hit Xbox 360 and PC one year earlier, to the big screen. This version was to be directed and produced by Gore Verbinski, who was coming off the success of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and written by Aviator scribe John Logan.

The project languished in development hell for several years but ultimately fell through shortly before filming was set to begin. Verbinksi later explained in a Reddit AMA (via ComingSoon.net) that Universal pulled the plug in 2011 because he and the studio couldn’t agree on the film’s rating (He wanted an R-rated film, Universal wanted a PG-13 movie).

A Partnership Between Netflix And Take-Two Interactive For A BioShock Movie Was Announced In February 2022

Many, many years (and two sequels and a remastered Bioshock game collection) later, it appeared as if Rapture would rise once again when Netflix entered into a partnership with Take-Two Interactive to make a BioShock movie. In February 2022, THR reported that the streaming giant and publisher had plans to develop an entire cinematic universe based on the games but didn’t go into any details on if that would just include adaptations of the 2007 title and its sequels or a larger expansion and exploration of the lore.

This was good news for longtime fans of the series, as well as those with a Netflix subscription, but it wouldn’t be the only exciting development surrounding the project that year.

In August 2022, Netflix Announced Francis Lawrence Was Set To Direct BioShock

Around six months after news of a Netflix BioShock movie first got out, the streamer announced that it had hired both a director and a screenwriter to get the project off the ground. 

Francis Lawrence, who made a name for himself by spearheading projects like Constantine, I Am Legend, and the Hunger Games film franchise (including 2023’s The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), was tasked with directing the much talked about adaptation. Joining him was Michael Green, whose previous credits included massive films like Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and various others. Both have had experience in the dystopian thriller genre, so the parking made perfect sense. 

Francis Lawrence Said Michael Green Was ‘In The Middle Of Writing’ The BioShock Movie in November 2022

It sounds like Michael Green didn’t waste any time getting things going with the BioShock script. In November 2022, just months after Green’s involvement was announced, Francis Lawrence revealed in a Collider interview that a lot of the planning was completed and the Logan writer was chipping away at the script:

Though the adaptation appeared to be moving along nicely at the time, Lawrence, Green, and everyone else involved were about to face a major obstacle about six months later.

Michael Green Said The BioShock Movie Was Still In The Works After The Conclusion Of The WGA Writers Strike

The 2023 WGA Writers Strike, like the SAG-AFTRA work stoppage that followed a couple of months later, had a major impact on projects ranging from late-night talk shows to streaming series to movies, and it was no different for BioShock. However, once an agreement was made in September 2023, writers throughout Hollywood were able to get back to work on their various projects, and that was the case for screenwriter Michael Green.

When speaking with Collider in October 2023, Green said that he had been meeting with Francis Lawrence and his team to refine a draft for the long-in-the-works movie. He also revealed that Netflix was “excited about” the story before the strike and they were still stoked about it now that the strike was over.  

Francis Lawrence Said He Was ‘Super, Super Excited About’ The BioShock Script In October 2023

Later in October 2023, Francis Lawrence, now able to actually talk about the project he had devoted more than a year obsessing over, told IGN that while the WGA strike did slow things down, he was excited about the script:

Lawrence also told the outlet that he was excited about all the world-building possibilities and the idea that he was getting to bring the underwater city of Rapture to life.

In December 2023, Francis Lawrence Said He Was Taking Inspiration From The Shining As Well As Jean-Pierre Jeunet And Marc Caro’s Movies

Though Francis Lawrence couldn’t reveal a great deal about the production or a timeline for BioShock when speaking with i09 in December 2023, the filmmaker did go into the movies inspiring his adaptation, including Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and the work of French directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro:

Taking inspiration from some of the best horror movies on top of the games could lead to a really cool look and tone for Netflix’s movie by the time it’s all said and done. Now all we need is for it to smash an axe through a door and say, "Heeeere's Bioshock!"

Francis Lawrence’s comments in late 2023 are the last we’ve heard about the BioShock movie, but hopefully, we’ll be treated to more updates in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, check out all the other upcoming Netflix movies and shows that will soon be available in the months to come. 

Among the many success stories on the 2023 movie schedule to look back on, the return to The Hunger Games with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a major one. The prequel was a triumph, even beating out a Marvel title at the box office around Thanksgiving. What could come next after the one-off storyline centered around President Snow in his teen years? We have a couple of ideas for more prequels. 

First, Francis Lawrence, who helmed most of the Hunger Games movies, including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, spoke about the possibility of expanding on other characters' stories with EW. Here are his thoughts: 

It sounds like the filmmaker is very much on board with exploring the Hunger Games franchise, he just needs the greenlight from author Suzanne Collins. And, the characters Lawrence mentioned are actually the best picks for more prequels. Let’s break down why: 

Why Haymitch Abernathy Deserves A Hunger Games Prequel 

Woody Harrelson famously played Katniss and Peeta’s mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, during the games in the original series. The character was District 12’s second victor before The Girl on Fire came along, and based on what we know from the books/movies, there’s an interesting story to tell from his perspective. 

He competed in the Hunger Games during the second Quarter Quell (the 50th games) at the age of 16, where the number of tributes chosen to compete was doubled. It was quite the eventful year in the games, between a volcanic eruption and Haymitch winning by slicing someone’s eye out. So yeah… we’d watch that. 

Why Finnick Odair Is Also A Great Pick For A Spinoff 

Then there’s Finnick Odair, who was portrayed by Sam Claflin in The Hunger Games movies starting with Catching Fire. His story would be an interesting change of pace from the others because he hails from District 4, one of the richer parts of Panem. 

Prior to competing with Katniss and Peeta in the 3rd Quarter Quell, he won the games at the age of 14 a decade prior. Perhaps, the most scandalous thing about his story is the fact that he was sex trafficked by Snow after the games. All that leads to him being reunited with the love of his life Annie Cresta, whom he mentored five years after his win. 

Sam Claflin has shared his thoughts on Finnick deserving better in the movies, and a prequel of his own could give the franchise a lot more time to simply focus on his story.

While these are the top two, there are more characters that we could see getting a prequel. It ultimately comes down to what Suzanne Collins decides she wants to do next with the franchise. 

November 2023 is coming to an end this week, and as per usual, there is plenty going on in the world of Stephen King. In the last couple days, I interviewed Henry Thomas about his extensive history making King adaptations, learning some great stuff about those various projects – but there is also a fresh 4K UHD release to review, and there is news about one long in-the-works King movie potentially finding new life.

This week’s edition of The King Beat is a fun one, with some behind the scenes trivia about -- one of the best Stephen King movies -- Doctor Sleep, a look at Scream Factory’s restored release of Silver Bullet, and an exciting update about Richard Bachman’s The Long Walk. Let’s dig in!

Mike Flanagan Didn’t Prepare Henry Thomas For The Jack Torrance Flashbacks In Doctor Sleep

Writer/director Mike Flanagan took on one hell of a challenge in adapting Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep/making a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, but he arguably gave the hardest job of all to actor Henry Thomas. Though credited as simply “The Bartender,” Thomas essentially took on the responsibility of bringing Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance back to the big screen… and shoes don’t get much bigger to fill for an actor. Fortunately, pop culture history smiles upon him, as he delivers a phenomenal performance – but it makes it all the more amazing to know that he was apparently kept in the dark about aspects of his role.

With Henry Thomas’ latest Stephen King movie, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, set to be released on home video in December, I had the incredible pleasure of doing a full King retrospective interview with the actor earlier this week, and one of the fascinating things I learned about his Doctor Sleep performance concerned the movie’s flashback moments when Rose The Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) is torturing Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) for his steam. I asked him if there was a surreal quality to recreating iconic moments from The Shining, and he explained that there was, and it was in part because he didn’t know until the last minute that they would be a part of his performance:

If you watch the director’s cut of Doctor Sleep, Henry Thomas’ The Bartender has two main scenes that play back-to-back: first, he meets with McGregor’s Dan Torrance in The Gold Room (where he mirrors the role played by Joe Turkel’s Lloyd from The Shining), and then the “father and son” go to the bathroom to clean up a spilled drink (where he mirrors the role played by Philip Stone’s Delbert Grady). Thomas was evidently only expecting to shoot those scenes… but then Mike Flanagan had him recreate some of the most memorable scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film – including hunting through the halls of The Overlook with an ax and stalking Wendy Torrance on the stairs).

The way that Henry Thomas describes the experience makes it sound like it was practically alien to him. In order to look like an on-screen facsimile of Jack Nicholson, he had to undergo a major physical transformation that was accomplished both with practical makeup and with digital effects. He explains that he put a lot of faith in the hands of Mike Flanagan and the different departments behind the scenes of Doctor Sleep, saying,

Doctor Sleep was the third movie that Henry Thomas made with Mike Flanagan (following Ouija: Origin Of Evil and Gerald’s Game), and their fourth project overall (including The Haunting Of Hill House). They have since worked together four more times (on The Haunting Of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club and The Fall Of The House Of Usher), though it appears that he is not part of the ensemble in Flanagan’s upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Life Of Chuck.

In the weeks ahead, be sure to keep an eye on CinemaBlend for more from my Stephen King-centric interview with Henry Thomas – and for those of you aiming to build the Ultimate Stephen King collection, you’ll be able to add Pet Sematary: Bloodlines to your library on December 19. And while on the subject of new 4K UHD releases…

Scream Factory Delivers Another Win With The Silver Bullet 4K UHD Collector’s Edition

Another week, another new Scream Factory 4K UHD Stephen King movie!

Just in time for Thanksgiving viewing, my preordered copy of Tales From The Darkside: The Movie arrived in the mail last week (as I wrote about in The King Beat this past Thursday), and it turns out that it was just a few days ahead of the new restoration of Dan Attias’ Silver Bullet. The releases actually share a lot in common, both positive and negative, but both are welcomed additions to my Stephen King library.

Like Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, this is the second time that Scream Factory has put out a Collector’s Edition of Silver Bullet, as they previously put together a beautiful package for the werewolf film in December of 2019… but that was just on Blu-ray. The 4K UHD carries over all of the special features that were previously included, but it also features a new commentary track by the wonderful Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler (the co-hosts of the podcast The Kingcast).

An underrated Stephen King adaptation with a screenplay by the author himself, Silver Bullet is definitely worth adding to your King collection in 4K UHD if you don’t already have the Scream Factory Blu-ray – but even if you do, it’s worth picking up. Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs in the set feature a Dolby Vision transfer from the original negative, and it can be said that the movie hasn’t looked this good since theaters. The colors are much richer and scenes are more vibrant, as you can tell in the Blu-ray screenshots below (the 2023 version is on the left, the 2019 version is on the right).

If you’re looking for a gift for the Stephen King fan in your life as we get deeper and deeper into the holiday season, you should make a move over to the Scream Factory website.

The Long Walk Has A New Director And Studio Attached, So Will It Now Finally Get Made?

Between fresh 4K UHD home video releases, Holly hitting stores, The Life Of Chuck starting and completing production, optimism about The Dark Tower, and news about Salem’s Lot finally being released, the last few months have provided a lot of positivity for Stephen King fans… but one negative development in the mix was the last report about the adaptation of The Long Walk. In August, CinemaBlend reported that director André Øvredal was no longer signed on to direct the film, leaving the feature in a nebulous state. That was a bummer to learn, but the latest update about the project is an exciting one, as The Long Walk is now in the works at a new studio and has a new director attached: The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes filmmaker Francis Lawrence.

Lawrence first revealed his plans to turn The Long Walk into a movie earlier this month in an interview with Business Insider. The filmmaker was asked about the long list of projects that he currently has in the works – including Constantine 2, I Am Legend 2 and Bioshock – and he revealed in his response that he is also trying to make his first Stephen King adaptation:

Published under King’s notorious pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Long Walk was the first novel that Stephen King ever wrote, but it wasn’t released until 1979 (five years after Carrie). Protagonist Ray Garraty is one of 100 teenage boys who participate in an endurance contest that sees them walking on a stretch of highway at a rate of at least four miles per hour without any breaks. Contestants are only given three warnings if they slow down or stop, and the penalty for either failing to continue after three warnings or attempting escape is execution. The last boy standing wins money and a prize of his choice – assuming he can hold on to his sanity.

It’s a powerful and horrifying piece of dystopian fiction, and as such, it’s understandable that it would attract the attention of the director who made the last four Hunger Games movies. Not only is Francis Lawrence attached to helm, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate (the studio behind the Hunger Games franchise) has acquired the rights to the book. Up-and-coming filmmaker JT Mollner has been hired to pen the script.

In a statement about the development of The Long Walk, Joe Drake, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group said,

Between Francis Lawrence’s full plate of projects and the inherent challenges of making a movie that is exclusively about teenagers performing a death march, it isn’t clear how quickly The Long Walk will move through development, but fingers are crossed that this latest attempt at an adaptation will be the first to make it to principal photography.

Recommendation Of The Week: “The End Of The Whole Mess”

Preparing to talk with Henry Thomas this week had me looking back at his full Stephen King filmography, and while most of the adaptations he’s made have been based on novels (Desperation, Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and Pet Sematary), “The End Of The Whole Mess” episode of Nightmares And Dreamscapes is an exception. Its source material is the terrific short story of the same name featured in the 1993 omnibus Nightmares & Dreamscapes – and to prepare you for my full interview with Thomas dropping next month, I’m naming it as The King Beat’s Recommendation Of The Week for the end of November 2023.

Written as a series of journal entries, the story has narrator Howard Fornoy reflecting on his life with his genius younger brother, Bobby Fornoy (who King partially based on his own brother, Dave). Bobby is a prodigy who grows up to be horrified by the self-destructive nature of humankind, and he attempts to use science to mitigate it. At first it seems that his efforts are brilliantly successful, and he is hailed as a hero, but then the world begins to slowly discover the horrible consequences of his work. It’s an excellent story about the burden of intelligence with shades of Flowers For Algernon, and like Daniel Keyes’ book, it’s ultimately both powerful and exceptionally depressing.

That does it for this week’s edition of The King Beat, but be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Thursday for my latest column, and meanwhile, you can explore my Adapting Stephen King series – diving into the full history of King’s works adapted for film and television.

Director Francis Lawrence joins the show to discuss his new film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (starring Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, and Viola Davis). We chat about returning to the Hunger Games franchise following his tenure with Jennifer Lawrence, the key to working around the MPA’s rating guidelines, and more. 

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More than a decade after Jennifer Lawrence brought life to Katniss Everdeen and the world of Panem in The Hunger Games, Rachel Zegler is about to make her debut in the universe as Lucy Gray Baird when The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hits theaters on November 17th. Critics have seen the prequel — which was adapted from the book of the same name — and while most commend the performances of its leads, many are quick to point out the flaws of its story.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes serves as an origin story for Coriolanus Snow, Panem’s tyrannical president. However, in the prequel he is still 18-year-old Coryo, played by Tom Blyth, who is assigned to mentor District 12 tribute Lucy Gray in the 10th Hunger Games. Early reactions had people calling the prequel the best in the series, so let’s see what critics are saying now that they can expand on those opinions. In CinemaBlend’s review of The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes, Sarah El-Mahmoud says there’s some excellent world-building despite some textbook prequel traps. She rates it 3.5 stars out of 5, writing: 

Kevin Harley of GamesRadar gives the prequel 3 out of 5 stars, agreeing with the above opinion that Coriolanus Snow’s fill-in-the-blanks backstory isn’t as engaging as the plot’s other main strand, especially because we already know what happens to Snow. Harley says:

Petrana Radulovic of Polygon, however, seems to disagree. The critic praises Tom Blyth as young Snow and says this movie overall is exactly what the YA dystopia genre needs. It reminds us of how brilliant The Hunger Games series is and makes us question why we like the genre in the first place. Radulovic continues:  

David Ehrlich of IndieWire gives The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes a B+, writing that no protagonist during the YA boom years was ever as watchable as Tom Blyth, but still it’s Rachel Zegler who makes the movie sing. This installment is by far the best of the franchise, Ehrich says, continuing: 

Emma Stefansky of IGN rates the movie a “Good” 7 out of 10, saying The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes rushes through a rich story that needs more time for its characters’ conflicts and manipulations to feel earned. The critic writes: 

While many critics are able to point to flaws in the movie, it sounds like overall they enjoyed climbing back into the dystopian world created by Suzanne Collins, particularly due to the performances of Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. 

If you want to check out The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes for yourself, you can do so starting Friday, November 17, and be sure to check out our 2023 movie calendar to see what other films are hitting the big screen through the end of the year. 

It’s been eight years since Katniss Everdeen’s story came to an end in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. Now, we’ll get a chance to witness some of the events that created the world she lived in with the prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This book-to-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins' work, which will hit theaters November 17, stars Tom Blyth as a young Coriolanus Snow and Rachel Zegler as a District 12 tribute for the 10th Hunger Games. The movie has screened ahead of its release, and people are hitting social media with their first reactions.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is essentially an origin story for the man who we know will grow up to be the villainous president of Panem (portrayed in the OG franchise movies by Donald Sutherland). At 18 years old, Coriolanus is assigned to mentor Rachel Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird, the female tribute from District 12 (and possible distant relative of one Katniss Everdeen). Let’s see what people are saying about what transpires between the two.

Perri Nemiroff raves about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ stacked cast, in multiple posts on X, specifically shouting out the two leads and Viola Davis. It does sound like it was a struggle to include all of the events from the book, though, as Nemiroff notes: 

Daniel Howat of Next Best Picture also says he had a “great time” with the prequel. Howat mentioned the movie’s surprisingly long runtime of 2 hours and 37 minutes but said it doesn’t drag. The critic continues: 

Stephanie Ramirez also calls this her favorite Hunger Games movie, saying in an X thread that Tom Blyth feels like he was born for this role. The film stays true to the source material, the portrayal of Panem from the page to the screen is perfect, and the chemistry between the lead actors is “flawless,” according to Ramirez, who continues: 

Lauren Garafano of Buzzfeed writes that she LOVES this movie and already can’t wait for a repeat viewing once it hits theaters. Tom Blyth’s transformation into the tyrant fans have long known is “spot-on,” she says. In her words: 

Tessa Smith has the same takeaway, calling Tom Blyth’s portrayal “the performance of a lifetime.” She writes on X:  

It sounds like people are really fired up about The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, especially established fans of the series. The leading actors are garnering a lot of praise from those who were able to catch an early screening, so hopefully their opinions will help you decide whether or not this will be a part of your plans upon the movie’s release.

If you want to refamiliarize yourself with the world of Panem before the prequel hits theaters on Friday, November 17, all four of the Hunger Games movies (which we've ranked) are available to stream with a Peacock subscription. Also be sure to check out the schedule of 2023 new movie releases to see what’s coming up now through the end of the year. 

Katniss Everdeen’s Hunger Games story may have come to a close with 2015’s Mockingjay Part 2 ending, but the world of Panem will return in the upcoming prequel film The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It’s one of the most highly-anticipated upcoming book adaptations of the year and, yes, there are some clever references to the Girl on Fire that fans should look out for. The prequel's director, Francis Lawrence, just pointed out how one particular Easter egg came together, and it’s an incredible callback to the original movies. 

Before helming this latest feature, which takes place sixty years prior to Katniss Everdeen volunteering as tribute, Francis Lawrence served as the director behind Catching Fire and both Mockingjay movies. So you can say he knows a little something about how to make a Hunger Games film. After eagle-eyed fans pointed what looked like a cool nod in the first Songbirds and Snakes trailer, Lawrence confirmed the Easter egg and shared more context on connecting the two District 12 tributes.

What Is The Katniss Everdeen Easter Egg In The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes?

In the marketing for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, some fans of the original movies have noticed Rachel Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird does a curtsy that is very reminiscent of what Katniss Everdeen does during a training session for the gory televised event. Doesn’t this look familiar? 

Francis Lawrence told Entertainment Tonight how the callback came about. In his words:  

Of course, Lucy Gray Baird wouldn’t know Katniss Everdeen, since she hadn’t been born yet. However, Everdeen might've learned about Lucy, and (retroactively) there's a chance the Girl on Fire was even honoring Baird by doing so. Whether that's definitely canon is uncertain, but the idea makes this scene from the first Hunger Games movie hit different. Check out the moment the filmmaker is referring to: 

What a great scene! This moment really helped show off Katniss' skills ahead of the games, and it might be even cooler if she was indeed referencing a prior tribute. 

What Other Katniss Everdeen Connections Are In The Prequel? 

In addition to this great easter egg, there are more callbacks to the protagonist of the original movie. For example, in the latest trailer, Lucy sings “The Hanging Tree,” which Katniss sung during the games, too. Apparently, her knowledge of the song will be connected to the events of the prequel, specifically how Lucy makes history. Francis Lawrence also suggested Lucy’s cousin Maude Ivory may be related to Katniss Everdeen! I'm loving all of the connective tissue here, and I'm hopeful there will be more explicit reveals in the actual movie.

Although Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss is not in the prequel, you'll still want to check out The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes when it opens in theaters on November 17. And be sure you're in the know when it comes to other entries on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.

After the Harry Potter films split the final book in the series, The Deathly Hallows, into two separate films, tons of book adaptations followed in its footsteps in the years to follow, including the ending of The Hunger Games movies, Mockingjay. As Francis Lawrence, the director behind both Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2 (along with Catching Fire), returns to the franchise for its upcoming prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the filmmaker shared some remorse over the controversial decision.  

A popular opinion among Hunger Games fans is the thought that Mockingjay really didn’t need to be split into two movies, and it didn’t do them any favors. The decision felt like one motivated by making more money on the franchise on its way out than anything else. Here’s what Lawrence said about the whole thing now: 

In a recent interview with People, Francis Lawrence shared that at the time, the filmmaking team behind the franchise felt that "two halves of Mockingjay had their own separate dramatic questions,” but he completely understands why it led to backlash. As he continued: 

Audiences were asked to wait a year between the events of Mockingjay Part 1, which came out in November 2014, and Mockingjay Part 2, which hit theaters in November 2015. Lawrence expanded further on filming the final Mockingjay story across two films:  

It would be another story if Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay was significantly longer than the other Hunger Games books, but it’s 390 pages long, which is one page less than Catching Fire and just 16 pages longer then the first Hunger Games book. With that in mind, there really wasn’t a major reason to split the book into half, and as a result, the last two films are highly regarded as the worst of the franchise. (You can check out our ranking of all the Hunger Games films to see for yourself why). Part 1 in particular feels rather drawn out and more a part of a whole than a complete movie. 

Due to the backlash his Mockingjay movies received, Lawrence made the decision to have The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes be one movie. He shared there was “a real conversation” about it, especially since it’s a “long book,” finding its word count a few pages over 500. Since he got “so much shit” for splitting up the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, he decided to make it the “longest Hunger Games movie” instead. The upcoming book adaptation has a runtime of two hours and 36 minutes. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is coming to theaters on November 17. Stay up to date on 2023 new movie release dates here on CinemaBlend. 

Every so often a movie franchise will arrive and become a bonafide sensation. The Hunger Games is definitely in that category, especially since they were based on beloved novels of the same name by Suzanne Collins. Panem is returning to theaters with the prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which will feature a younger version of the hated villain President Snow. The Hunger Games director name dropped characters that could get their own movie next, and I’m sold. Panem today, Panem tomorrow, Panem forever!

Filmmaker Francis Lawrence had helmed every installment in the Hunger Games franchise, with the exception being the very first movie. That includes The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which will feature both Snow and Tigris at a young age. The director spoke to EW about the upcoming prequel, where he revealed his interest in telling more stories within the same universe. In his words:

Honestly, sign me up. I didn’t realize until the trailers for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes started arriving just how much I missed the Hunger Games franchise. There’s something about the mixture of YA and sci-fi that really hits for me. And I’d love to see prequels that show what champions like Finnick and Haymitch won their games.

When Katniss volunteers at the reaping to save her sister Prim, she ends up participating in both the 74th and 75th annual Hunger Games. As such, there’s dozens of stories about past years that could end up being adapted for film. And it would be fun to see Haymitch or Finnick during their games, maybe with certain actors returning to their roles. Later in that same interview with EW, Francis Lawrence explained how it's ultimately up to author Suzanne Collins to decide what’s next. As he put it:

Of course, the future of the Hunger Games on the big screen depends on how The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes performs upon its release. The original franchise made a ton of money, but it’s been years since Jennifer Lawrence used her bow and arrow as Katniss. Does the public still have the same investment in the sci-fi property? Only time will tell. But we won’t have to wait long for answers.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will hit theaters on November 17th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.

The Hunger Games movies that starred Jennifer Lawrence introduced us to the evil President Snow who runs Panem's barbaric television show that makes kids kill each other for survival. If you’re curious about how Panem’s president turned into the sinister man we know him to be, the franchise’s director Francis Lawrence returned for the book-adapted prequel film to answer that question for us. However, the team behind The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was initially “concerned” about making a movie about a fan-hated character.

It can be very adventurous to make a movie about a well-known villain’s roots as audiences will be more sympathetic to them than spiteful. The Star Wars prequels focused on a young Vader whose darkness started when he left his mother for Jedi training, only for her to die in his arms when he returned to her. In EW’s cover story about the Hunger Games prequel, director Francis Lawrence admitted he and producer Nina Jacobson were “concerned” about making a movie centered on President Snow’s background considering what a sadistic villain he was in the successful franchise. Still, this team knew it was strong storytelling to inform audiences that you’re not born a bad guy. There’s something that motivates a villain to become one.

One thing that absolutely helped The Hunger Games team make the Suzanne Collins adapted book sequel into a compelling story was its casting. British actor Tom Blyth, cast as the movie’s young President Snow, had Nina Jacobson raving about why he was the perfect fit for the role.

Something important to know about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the plot follows a young Cornelius Snow during the 10th annual Hunger Games. Set 60 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered, 18-year-old Snow was an Academy student whose family fell hard on finances after the first civil war. While he’s after a cash prize given to the mentor of a winning victor, Snow pushes himself to train Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, who uses her musical talent to wow Panem. And like District 12 victors Katniss and Peeta had a complicated romance during The Game’s reign, so did Cornelius and Lucy.

Francis Lawrence said Tom Blyth “blew everyone out of the water” with his audition tape. It also helped that his resemblance to older President Snow actor Donald Sutherland and his chemistry with Zegler further cemented the deal. But the franchise’s director had one request for the 28-year-old actor.

That’s very good advice, as you don’t want to feel like you’re playing Donald Sutherland playing President Snow. Actors want to create a character based on the guidance of the script and director. While Lawrence and Sutherland knew the character of President Snow was a villain, they felt the Panem president was more complex than that. Essentially, all villains believe that their ways of thinking are the truth even if they come off as sadistic to the masses. Like the philosophy of many prequels, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes gives audiences the origins of why original characters became the way they did and how.

The Hunger Games team may have had “concerns” about making a movie about a villain’s backstory, but telling this story will pique audiences’ curiosities about how and why President Snow became the villainous foe he turned into. Before you catch the 2023 movie release of the prequel in theaters on November 17th, you can prepare yourself by watching The Hunger Games movies free on YouTube.

The Hunger Games franchise is set to return soon with this fall’s prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. The upcoming book adaptation marks the first movie from the dystopian world not to star Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen since the film takes place decades before the character was even born. However, there are possible connections to the Girl On Fire to be found, including a possible familial affiliation. 

Francis Lawrence has been directing The Hunger Games franchise since he came on board for the 2013 sequel Catching Fire, and the filmmaker returns for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. While discussing the release with Entertainment Weekly, Lawrence shared his thoughts on what character from the prequel he believes may be an ancestor of one Katniss Everdeen. In his words:  

Whether the name Maude Ivory holds weight for you will depend on if you read the 2020 prequel. To explain, the character is the cousin of Rachel Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird, who becomes the District 12 female tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this character is set to be played by Vaughan Reilly, and she is supposed to be around eight or nine years of age. 

Lawrence isn’t the end-all-be-all source of the subject given he’s not Suzanne Collins, but when the filmmaker was asked about another family relationship theory, that’s the character he decided to put his money on. Many fans of the novels believe Lucy Gray Baird could be Katniss’ grandmother, but it would be less on the nose if a relative of a tribute, rather than an actual tribute, was a direct relative to the Girl on Fire. 

That being said, there are a few distinct connections that can be made between Katniss Everdeen and Lucy Gray Baird ahead of the prequel’s release. For one, in the latest The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes trailer, Zegler’s character can be heard singing “The Hanging Tree,” which Lawrence memorably sang in the franchise. Francis Lawrence spoke to this: 

As audiences of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will learn, it’s Lucy Gray Baird who wrote “The Hanging Tree” to begin with over 60 years prior, and Katniss Everdeen grew up with the song. Check out the new trailer below: 

While there are certainly connections between Lucy Gray Baird and Katniss Everdeen, Lawrence has also called Rachel Zegler’s tribute the anti-Katniss due to their personalities and journeys in the Hunger Games being quite different. It’s almost time to see the prequel because it's landing on the 2023 movie schedule and in theaters on November 17. 

After nearly a decade away from the cinematic world of The Hunger Games, audiences will soon return to the dystopian landscape of the series with this fall’s prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It’s a book-to-screen adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ 2020 novel about the origins of Coriolanus Snow when he was a teen (and long before he was president) as he mentored a District 12 tribute during the 10th Hunger Games, played by Rachel Zegler. Ahead of its release, the film’s director teased how Zegler’s character is different from Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, and I can tell he really gets the material. 

Rachel Zegler is set to play Lucy Gray Baird, who is the female tribute for District 12, like Katniss Everdeen was, but over 60 years prior. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ director, Francis Lawrence, who also helmed three out of the four original Hunger Games movies, contrasted the tributes recently, saying this: 

Lawrence also described Lucy Gray Baird as the “anti-Katniss” while speaking to Empire about the upcoming prequel. As a longtime fan of The Hunger Games books, including The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I totally agree with this characterization of the two female protagonists of the franchise. Many people have yet to meet and understand Rachel Zegler’s character, but what’s particularly exciting about her is how different she is than Katniss because she goes about the Games in a different way than we’d seen already in the original book trilogy. 

While Katniss is a character who was completely content with spending her days hunting alongside Gale rather than be in front of a crowd a day in her life, Lucy Gray Baird is a natural-born performer who draws attention to herself on purpose to win the hearts and minds of the public. She became a crowd favorite during the 10th Hunger Games, especially due to her talent for singing. No spoilers here, but Katniss Everdeen would not be caught dead doing many of the things Lucy does during her time in the Hunger Games. 

Rachel Zegler is among another fantastic cast for the franchise, with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes cast list featuring the likes of Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and such. Check out the trailer for the prequel ahead of its November release: 

While there are tons of ways the two District 12 tributes don’t align, you’ll definitely notice parallels between the two characters. For one, Zegler actually nodded to J-Law’s Katniss in one scene that can be seen in the above trailer. Thinking about the differences between the original Hunger Games movies and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, out November 17, is definitely getting me even more excited for the dystopian thriller! 

Gary Ross got the Hunger Games film series going in 2012, but it was Francis Lawrence who oversaw the rest of the movies starring Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson’s Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth’s Gale Hawthorne. While that cinematic saga ended in 2015 with Mockingjay — Part 2, Lawrence has returned to Panem for The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel set decades before the previous movies. We’re still a year away from seeing that entry in the 2023 movies lineup, but Lawrence did share with CinemaBlend what it felt like for him to return to the Hunger Games franchise.

Francis Lawrence is currently making the press rounds for Slumberland, the fantasy movie starring Jason Momoa and Marlow Barkley with can be streamed with a Netflix subscription starting Friday. Before his interview with Lawrence ended, our own Sean O’Connell asked the filmmaker what his first day on the set of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was like for him as far as returning to this “world,” and he answered:

While the original Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes book by Suzanne Collins was published on May 19, 2020, Lionsgate started talking with the author about putting together a film adaptation the year prior, and the movie was officially announced a month before the book’s release. Filming began in July, and as Franchis Lawrence recalled, there was a mix of the familiar and brand-new working on the prequel, which made for an invigorating experience. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes wrapped principal photography earlier this month in Berlin, Germany, so now, as Sean put it, “the fun part starts” for Lawrence and his team (a.k.a. post-production), to which the filmmaker responded, “Exactly.”

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes chronicles the rise of Coriolanus Snow, who will become President of Panem and was played by Donald Sutherland in the original Hunger Games movies. The younger Snow, who’s being brought to life by Tom Blyth, must serve as a mentor for Rachel Ziegler’s Lucy Gray a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ cast also includes Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Viola Davis, Burn Gorman and Fionnula Flanagan (among many others), and Michael Arndt and Michael Lesslie handled scripting duties.

Mark November 17, 2023 on your calendars if you’re eager to see The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes on the big screen. If you’re interested in re-watching the first four Hunger Games movies, break out your Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Before the infamous Oscar slap happened, it was reported that Will Smith would return for the I Am Legend sequel, with Michael B. Jordan set as his co-star. Unfortunately, not much more was said after that initial piece of news was revealed. However, an update has now arrived, courtesy of the original film's director, Francis Lawrence, and the filmmaker got honest regarding what he knows about Smith's long-awaited sci-fi follow-up.

Francis Lawrence had been opposed to an I Am Legend sequel in the past, given the way that his movie ended. Of course, his opinions couldn't stop Warner Bros. from brewing up a new idea for the franchise. As of right now, Lawrence himself is not attached to actually helm the sequel, which has been in development hell for some time. Despite not being attached to the film, he has chatted with the first film’s writer, Akiva Goldsman. The renowned filmmaker spoke to Comicbook.com about the sequel’s status, and fans may not be too thrilled:

So unfortunately, it sounds like things have come to a bit of a standstill for the film. There is a bit of good news here, however, as it sounds like Francis Lawrence is interested in directing the film should things come together. If he were to get the gig, it would represent a firm piece of creative continuity for the production.

Still, there are plenty of questions surrounding I Am Legend 2 from a narrative standpoint. For instance, could Will Smith's Robert Neville and Michael B. Jordan’s character be connected in some way? Will the movie take place before or after the events of the first installment? There's also the matter of whether the nocturnal mutants will still be featured. Some may doubt whether Smith's Neville could return, though it is indeed possible.

One can look to I Am Legend’s alternate ending, in which Neville survived the finale's fateful blast and made it to the survivors’ camp. The producers could retroactively take elements from that ending to make this a true follow-up. Though if this were to be handled ineffectively, it could confuse some moviegoers.

While Francis Lawrence is at least thinking about that project, he's currently consumed with the Constantine sequel. That WB production will mark the return Keanu Reeves, who will reprise is role as the beloved supernatural detective. The Water for Elephants director will helm the follow-up, with Akiva Goldsman penning the script. 

While I Am Legend fans wait to hear more about the sequel, everyone affiliated with it and the original film remains busy. Francis Lawrence has also been busy with other things. Right now, he's gearing up for the release of his fantasy adventure, Slumberland, which hits Netflix on November 18. Lawrence just also recently wrapped filming on The Hunger Games spinoff, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Akiva Goldman, for his part, crafted the anthology series The Crowded Room, which will be available through an Apple TV+ subscription. And Will Smith is getting ready for the release of Emancipation, which will premiere on Apple as well on December 9.

Needless to say, it could be a while before things get off the ground for the I Am Legend sequel. One can only hope that there's some kind of movement on the movie sooner rather than later. In the meantime, the first movie can be streamed using an HBO Max subscription. You can also look over CinemaBlend's 2022 movie schedule to see what new productions are coming up by the end of the year.

For many years, fans of 2005’s Constantine and the DC Comics source material have been hoping to see Keanu Reeves back in the big screen role. Surprise! It’s finally happening. Warner Bros is officially developing another Constantine movie where Reeves will reteam with the director of the first film, along with J.J. Abrams being among its producers. 

Francis Lawrence, who made his filmmaking debut with Constantine 17 years ago, and has since helmed much of the Hunger Games franchise, along with Water For Elephants and Red Sparrow, is set to direct the untitled return of Keanu Reeves’ John Constantine, as Deadline reports. The upcoming movie will be written by Akiva Goldsman, who co-developed the Titans series along with numerous Star Trek projects.  

Goldsman will also produce the movie through his company Weed Road Pictures alongside Abrams’ Bad Robot, with Hannah Minghella also aboard the project. Back in 2020, Francis Lawrence expressed interest in returning to Constantine with the caveat that the “character was not available to us.” Now things have clearly changed, as Warner Bros Pictures Group Co-Chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have reportedly shepherded a deal with the filmmakers and Reeves. 

John Constantine has been between the pages of DC Comics since the character’s debut in 1985. The Keanu Reeves-led Constantine, which came out in the early days of the superhero movie boom, received mixed reviews and made $230 million worldwide at the box office, becoming the No. 15 top-grossing movie of 2005, per Box Office Mojo. 

Along with Reeves starring, the original movie also featured Rachel Weisz as Angela Dodson, Shia LaBeouf as Chas, Djimon Hounsou as Midnite and Tilda Swinton as Gabriel. With such an incredible lineup, most of whom are even more famous than they were in 2005, perhaps Warner Bros is knocking on a few of their doors? 

Constantine seemed to open the door for more movies starring Keanu Reeves as the supernatural exorcist and demonologist following his exciting face-off against the archangel Gabriel and Lucifer, but only now is a sequel finally being developed. The news comes a couple years after it was announced that a Justice League Dark series for HBO Max was in the works also from J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot, which memorably includes John Constantine among a team of supernatural heroes. 

There hasn’t been a lot of movement on the development of Justice League Dark since its announcement, but considering J.J. Abrams is on board both Constantine-related projects, it’s very possible they could be connected. While John Constantine did have some live-action time in the CW’s Arrowverse with Matt Ryan as the character, we’re excited about how the movie will build upon Constantine’s legacy, and as one of DC’s few LGBTQ+ characters too. 

While it certainly sounds like this DC movie is a ways away, it’s exciting news to hear Keanu Reeves will play Constantine again after all these years. 

Launching in 2006, Bioshock quickly became a popular video game property, and there have also been numerous attempts to get a Bioshock film adaptation off the ground since 2008. After nearly a decade and a half of setbacks, the Bioshock movie is now set up at Netflix, and today brings word that The Hunger Games’ Francis Lawrence and Logan’s Michael Green have been brought aboard the project.

Francis Lawrence, who directed the latter three of the main Hunger Games movies, has been tapped to direct Bioshock, and Michael Green, who wrote Logan (a.k.a. Hugh Jackman’s final outing as Wolverine) is penning the script. Deadline’s writeup of this official announcement noted that because Lawrence is currently working on the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the plan is for Green adapt the Bioshock script in time for when Lawrence is able to jump into pre-production. The outlet also stated that Netflix selected Lawrence to direct Bioshock because he has “shown the ability at adapting popular IP into global hits.” 

Outside of the Hunger Games space, Francis Lawrence’s credits include Constantine, I Am Legend, Water for Elephants, Red Sparrow and Slumberland, the latter of which is another forthcoming Netflix movie. Green is no stranger to genre work either, as along with Logan, he’s written movies like Blade Runner 2049, Murder on the Orient Express, Jungle Cruise and Death on the Nile, as well as episodes of TV shows like Smallville, Heroes and American Gods. Fingers crossed that these these two have better luck getting Bioshock off the ground than past attached talent like Gore Verbinski and John Logan. Before Netflix teamed up with Take-Two Interactive and 2K to make Bioshock happen, the project had been housed at Universal Pictures.

For those unfamiliar with Bioshock, the core series mixes first-person shooter and role-playing elements for stories set in a dystopic, sci-fi and horror-twisted version of Earth. While the events of 2007’s Bioshock and 2010’s Bioshock 2 respectively unfolded 1960 and 1968 in the underwater city called Rapture, 2013’s Bioshock Infinite wound the clock back to 1912 and took place in the levitating city called Columbia. The latter two Bioshock games delivered additional downloadable content/expansions, but next year will mark a decade since Infinite’s release. A new Bioshock game was announced to be in development in September 2019, but it’s unclear where things currently stand with it. 

It’ll be a while until Netflix subscribers are able to watch the Bioshock movie, but once more news starts trickling in, including who will comprise the main cast, we’ll pass that information along. In the meantime, the 2022 Netflix movie schedule is available to peruse so you can learn what cinematic content the streaming service has left to deliver this year.

We’ll be back in Panem sooner rather than later! The Hunger Games franchise has been set to come back to the big screen since Suzanne Collins published her 2020 prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and now we finally know when we can expect the bestseller to be adapted. The next Hunger Games movie has been given a release date by Lionsgate, and it's less than two years away! 

During Lionsgate’s panel at 2022 CinemaCon, which CinemaBlend was in attendance for, it was announced that The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set to be released on November 17, 2023. It’s a nostalgic date for the Hunger Games franchise, considering three of four movies also came out the weekend before Thanksgiving. 

Francis Lawrence, who also directed Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2, is returning to helm the prequel. During the CinemaCon presentation, a brief teaser was shown that read: “You’re invited to return to the Games” and “In 2023, the world will discover who is a songbird and who is a snake” as a CGI icy bird and snake thaws, revealing them to be gold, served as the only visuals. 

With seven years since the last Hunger Games movie, I’m pumped to see the franchise return, even though (spoiler alert) our beloved Katniss and Peeta are not expected to be in this movie. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows a young Cornelius Snow during the 10th Hunger Games. He is a mentor to a District 12 tribute named Lucy Gray Baird, who becomes a Capitol favorite after showing off her singing chops. 

While the release date is a huge step for the Hunger Games prequel, it seems as though Lionsgate has yet to cast its leads or begin production. There is about a year and a half until The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes' arrival, so it seems like the next few months could see the project finally go into full gear. 

Since the first Hunger Games film first hit theaters a decade ago, the franchise has amassed a gross of $2.97 billion worldwide and remained both critically acclaimed and beloved by fans from start to finish. The original films propelled stars like Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth to a whole new level of fame. 

The Ballad of Songbird and Snakes saw Suzanne Collins subverting the villain origin story one might expect from a prequel of this nature. The book is different from the original series because it tells its story from the perspective of a privileged man rather than a young underdog in the world of Panem. It delves deeper into the lore of the Hunger Games, 50 years before Katniss comes into the picture. 

While we wait for more news about upcoming movie releases like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, you can stream all four Hunger Games movies. 

By now, it’s pretty much common knowledge that a post-credits scenes will more than likely accompany an MCU film. However, before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was even a thing, DC’s Constantine had already utilized the post-credits scene technique to its storytelling advantage. Now, director Francis Lawrence has shared a little about how that scene came together for the Keanu Reeves-led film.

During a Comic-Con@Home panel put on by Collider, producer Akiva Goldsman, director Francis Lawrence, and Keanu Reeves talked a bit about Constantine. When asked about how they developed the post-credits scene, Francis Lawrence revealed that it wasn’t even in the plan until later. Here’s what he said:

While it was a cool idea to tease the audience with the possibility of there being more to the story, it was likely unbearable for fans when those plans weren't followed through. Even though Francis Lawrence and Keanu Reeves are down for a sequel, Constantine (which released in 2005) has yet to get a follow-up.

The film's post-credits scene is one that still sticks out. If you recall, Shia LeBeouf’s Constantine character -- Chas Kramer -- is the driver and student of John Constantine and helps him defeat the forces of darkness. After they attempt to exorcise Mammon, Chas Kramer is killed by the angel Gabriel. However, in the post-credits scene, John Constantine places a lighter on Chas’ grave and shortly afterward, Chas rises from the dead with angel’s wings and flies off into the sky.

So, theoretically, if a sequel were to happen, they would've likely included Chas Kramer’s now angelic form. Perhaps he would partner up, once-again, with John Constantine in the fight against evil. Well, at least, that's the feeling you get from the post-credit scene.

Part of the reason we never got a sequel to Constantine was because Keanu Reeves, at the time, said he didn’t want to do a sequel. On top of that, the R-rated comic book movie didn’t do as well in the box office as hoped. Instead, the studio took the franchise to television, which also didn’t pan out as hoped.

Warner Bros. hasn’t entirely given up on the idea of the character, though. With the release of HBO Max, it was revealed that J.J. Abrams' production company Bad Robot would produce a Justice League Dark TV show. If you aren’t aware, Justice League Dark is a team comprised of DC’s darker heroes, like John Constantine, who fight the supernatural elements that heroes like Batman and Superman wouldn't normally handle.

We don’t know much about that show just yet. And though it seems unlikely that Keanu Reeves would reprise the role for it, nothing is out of the question. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest news.

Years before Matt Ryan brought John Constantine to life, Keanu Reeves first portrayed the chain-smoking occult detective in live action. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Constantine’s release, and while a sequel never followed, both Reeves and the movie’s director, Francis Lawrence, are still down for another round to tackle the DC Comics character if the opportunity presents itself.

Here’s what Francis Lawrence had to say about the prospect of Constantine 2:

So the lack of Constantine 2 happening even a decade and a half after the first movie came out isn’t for a lack of interest from its lead star or director. As Francis Lawrence informed Slashfilm, John Constantine’s usage is complicated by “shared universes” (i.e. the character once being part of Vertigo, which was a DC Comics imprint, and now resting within the main DC universe), and the plans in store for said universes. Still, if it were up to Lawrence and Keanu Reeves, they’re willing to re-explore this supernatural realm they first delved into in the mid-2000s.

It’s safe to say that Constantine took a fair amount of creative liberties with the source material, and upon its release in 2005, it was met with mixed critical reception and only made $230.9 million worldwide off a $100 million budget. Nevertheless, 15 years later, has assembled a sizable fanbase, and talk about making a sequel stretches back over a decade. In 2011, Francis Lawrence noted how he’d want to make Constantine 2 R-rated and extra scary, and Keanu Reeves even expressed interest last year in reprising John Constantine.

Of course, even Keanu Reeves wasn’t busy acting in all sorts of projects, including the popular John Wick franchise, as Francis Lawrence noted, there are other obstacles in the way to reuniting with this incarnation of John Constantine. That’s not even counting that Matt Ryan’s Constantine continues to be a regular presence on the CW series Legends of Tomorrow.

Earlier this year, it was announced that J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company is partnering with Warner media to create a Justice League Dark film and TV universe, starting with a show centered on the team of supernatural characters heading to HBO Max. Given how John Constantine’s part of the main Justice League Dark roster in the comics, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was one of the series’ main characters, but there’s even been rumors about Constantine leading either his own movie or separate TV series set in this new universe.

While there’s a slim possibility that this Justice League Dark universe could incorporate Keanu Reeves’s John Constantine, be it in the ensemble TV show or in his own adventures, given the actor’s stature and schedule, as well as to allow for more creative freedom, I suspect that fans will be introduced to another version of the character. Still, at least it’s nice to know that if DC and Warner Bros are willing to revisit the world of 2005’s Constantine, Keanu Reeves and Francis Lawrence are open to it. Ideally the sequel would be even more successful if Lawrence was allowed to go down that R-rated path, not to mention Reeves’ increased popularity in recent years.

Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more news concerning DC Comics movies and TV shows, and learn what’s coming down the pipeline on the feature film front with our handy guide.

Recognizable IPs are getting snatched up left and right to get the movie treatment, but the road to the theater can sometimes be a long one. Case in point: the theatrical adaptation of the beloved Battlestar Galactica. The project has been in development for at least three years, but it does have some impressive talent developing it in the form of director Francis Lawrence, perhaps best known for the Hunger Games franchise. Lawrence recently gave an update on the film, and was able to confirm that he is still involved and that it's a franchise close to his heart. Here's what he said:

Fans of Battlestar Galactica can rest a little easier knowing that a movie is still currently in development. Francis Lawrence told Coming Soon that he was still working on the project with writer Lisa Joy (Westworld). But due to it still being early, he was unable to give any sort of release window.

Battlestar Galactica is a classic sci-fi television series that first premiered in 1978 and was created by Glen A. Larson. The series followed the last survivors of the human race, decimated in a millennia-long war with the robotic Cylons, as they journey for the mythical planet Earth on the Galactica. Galactica is the last remaining war vessel. Though the series only aired for one season, it became a cult classic. Years later, it spawned an arguably more well-known TV reboot series of the same name created by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick in 2004. While Lawrence's movie will strive to stand on its own, he's too much of a fan not to include some nods to the original series.

For fans of either series, it sounds look a project well worth looking forward to. It's always nice having a genuine fan in the director's chair. Hopefully, more updates on the movie will be more rapidly forthcoming from now on, so stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep you updated with new information as soon as it becomes available.

One of those films that for a long time seemed as though it would get some kind of sequel, prequel or continuation is 2007's I Am Legend. The film, which was based on a 1954 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson, grossed over $585 million worldwide. Despite being that successful, a sequel never materialized (yet). As far as the film's director Francis Lawrence is concerned, that was ultimately for the best. He recently spoke about the possibilities and why I Am Legend didn't need a sequel, saying:

I Am Legend felt right as a standalone movie, and Francis Lawrence hits the nail on the head as to why a continuation wouldn't really work. It is unsurprising to hear how much Warner Bros. wanted a sequel to the film; it was very successful, after all, and starred bonafide movie star Will Smith. But I think the difficulty in coming up with an interesting take is the very reason a sequel is unnecessary in the first place. As Francis Lawrence told MTV's Happy Sad Confused Podcast, it would have felt forced.

A sequel wouldn't have followed Will Smith's Robert Neville, who died in the first film, so some real narrative gymnastics would need to be performed to bring him back, and it would have felt somewhat dumb. It's a "last man on Earth" story, and without that format, it's just another version of The Walking Dead. And like Francis Lawrence said, Robert Neville is not Indiana Jones. He is not the kind of character that you want to follow again and again. He is primarily compelling because of the situation he finds himself in. Francis Lawrence also touched on the possibility of a prequel and why that wouldn't work either, saying:

Indeed a prequel focusing on the genesis of the virus would have been just like Contagion or any other pandemic movie that has been done before. In this age of blockbusters and franchises, it is cool to hear Francis Lawrence using logical reasoning for why I Am Legend didn't spawn a sequel or prequel, and why he wouldn't be part of one. There simply wasn't a story worth telling. If only that logic governed more film industry decisions. The film stood on its own, and while Francis Lawrence would go back and change some things about I Am Legend, making a sequel or prequel isn't one of them. It would be great if more big budget fare and adaptations happened these days without the intent of extending it into a series, franchise or cinematic universe.

The 2007 I Am Legend starring Will Smith is actually only one of four film adaptations of Richard Matheson's novel. The ending was the most divisive aspect of Francis Lawrence's film in how it differed from the novel, and there is even an alternate ending available on the home video release. I imagine that eventually we'll see another modern adaptation of I Am Legend that hews closer to the source material. If Warner Bros. makes another I Am Legend, hopefully it is a full reboot instead of trying to piggyback off a ten-year-old movie. The story is an inherently compelling one and could be told very differently if done again. As for Francis Lawrence, the director is next tackling Red Sparrow, an adaptation of the spy novel by author Jason Matthews. Red Sparrow hits theaters on March 2.

Almost 40 years ago, Glen Larson created Battlestar Galactica as TV's answer to the high flying brand of sci-fi that Star Wars exposed audiences to in the previous year. Though it only lasted for 21 episodes, its impact on the world was felt and the rest was history. Now, after having a successful modern reboot, the original recipe franchise has been moving towards a big budget movie, with some impressive talent circling its wagons.

Word on the adaptation of the classic TV show came from Deadline, who have also picked up on the fact that writer Lisa Joy's hiring has come not too long before her previous project, HBO's Westworld, is set to debut. While she's locked in, director Francis Lawrence is only looking at the project for the time being, though considering his pedigree in the genre, as the director of three installments of The Hunger Games and 2007's I Am Legend, it wouldn't be that shocking if he decided to join up. It must be stressed again that Glen Larson's original series is up for a reboot, not the 2004 reboot, so apologies to those of you expecting Edward James Olmos to pop up as Admiral Adama.

Battlestar Galactica's reboot comes at an interesting time in sci-fi, as the genre's pendulum has started to swing back towards 1970's properties, with Westworld coming to TV this fall and Logan's Run constantly evolving in its course towards becoming a full fledged film project yet again. Interestingly enough though is the fact that Universal decided to make a film version of the 1978 variant, which was less the hard scrabble military drama that Ronald D. Moore's reboot was, and instead occupied a more mythical sort of niche in the sci-fi world. Then again, if J.J. Abrams can resurrect the vintage Star Wars feeling that fans had for the original trilogy in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, then every other sci-fi franchise is fair game.

Of course, the fact that Lisa Joy was hired to write the film may indicate that Universal is going to hedge their bets with Battlestar Galactica, and bring a more modern take to the original storyline. So rather than use the 2004 series' plot of humanity being on the edge, and Cylons being able to infiltrate humanity with their 12 models of decoys, we'd see a modern flavored film franchise that would keep Cylons square in the realm of a visible threat. Though should this first film succeed, there's always the possibility of using the 2004 shows' twist as grist to keep the mill running. Either way, this seems like a Battlestar Galactica that will be an easy PG-13, in order to compete with the modern film market.

While the prospect of adapting the 1978 version of Battlestar Galactica for modern audiences sounds a little risky, it's not an impossible feat. We'll keep an open mind as to what the future of the project will bring, and as soon as any details about casting or production schedules start to arise, we'll report back as soon as possible!

It’s no secret that Lionsgate doesn’t want to let the money printing machine that is The Hunger Games franchise go. We already knew they were interested in looking at the potential for sequels or prequels to the franchise that just wrapped its initial story with the last film based on the existing novels. They aren't wasting any time, as the Vice Chairman of Lionsgate has gone on record saying the franchise, "will live on and on."

The studio is apparently in the very early stages, but is specifically looking at developing prequel stories into future movies. According to Variety, Michael Burns of Lionsgate made the disclosure today as part of a conference he’s attending in New York. While The Hunger Games as a franchise has been successful, the most recent film, Mockingjay: Part 2, has been slower at the box office than any of the previous films.

In what may be the most telling comment, Burns chalks up the later films lack of a success to the lack of arena battles that take place in Mockingjay. The first two movies contained the actual Hunger Games competitions, while the final two did not. According to Burns, younger fans missed the arenas, which is why the later films were less successful. This is apparently the reason they are eyeing prequels rather than sequels, as a film set prior to the first book would contain Hunger Games once again.

This seems to be an incredibly simplistic view of the relative merits of the various films. To simply say "kids like arenas" discounts the scripts, the plots, and the performances entirely. While many Hunger Games fans would likely be interested in seeing more films, they’re probably interested in seeing good ones, not simply a particular type of action sequence.

The topic of more movies in the series has been on people’s minds since even before the most recent film was released. Francis Lawrence, the man who directed all of the Hunger Games films, except the first, previously said he would be interested in returning to direct more movies in the series, but only if the stories come from Suzanne Collins, the author of the books.  There’s no mention of Collins involvement here, and we’d be surprised that her name wasn’t dropped if she is involved, so perhaps we can infer that she isn’t. Lawrence has also said that the idea of doing prequels is problematic, as going back to see the games where Woody Harrelson's character competed, as an example, loses drama because the outcome is already known. The other problem is that seeing another set of Games, when you’ve already watched civilization collapse, doesn’t exactly ratchet up the tension.

While the desire to continue a successful franchise is understandable, it’s one thing to have a great idea that you might be able to make into a financially successful film. It’s quite another to try to sell a movie based on a plot device. Are you excited at the potential for more Hunger Games movies? Is this the right way to do it?

Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) story may be coming to a close with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, but that does not mean there are no stories left to tell in the dystopian world of Panem. Director Francis Lawrence has openly stated that he would love to tell more Hunger Games tales – on the condition that author Suzanne Collins come up with the story – but where should the franchise go from here?

A new report from Yahoo indicates Lawrence’s hesitation to helm a prequel story to the current Hunger Games continuity. And his reasoning is sound:

Francis Lawrence’s primary concern seems to be his aversion to retreading familiar territory – which makes sense. The Hunger Games franchise has been pretty thorough in its examination of the human psyche when placed under intense, overwhelming survival situations, and he would need to find a new way to tell such a story. Haymitch Abernathy’s (Woody Harrelson) time during the Second Quarter Quell has not necessarily been shown during the movies, but it has been thoroughly alluded to and explained, potentially making an entire movie centered upon that storyline incredibly superfluous.

However, just because an audience knows how a certain storyline is going to pan out does not necessarily mean it’s not worth telling. Plenty of prequels bring audiences in knowing full well how a story will pan out, but they do it in an interesting way that makes the story accessible anyway. Films like X-Men: First Class and even Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith helped fill in the continuity gaps of their respective franchises while still very much respecting what came before it. Perhaps the smarter move would be for the franchise to produce a prequel about entirely new characters set during the early years of the Hunger Games – but that’s just a thought.

For now, the focus remains on the story of Katniss Everdeen and her journey to becoming the hero of Panem; The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is currently in theaters.

While The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 spent plenty of time reinventing itself to tell a story that is only comprised of the first half of the final book in Suzanne Collins’ popular young adult series, the new movie Mockingjay – Part 2 stays pretty darn faithful to the source material. There are some changes in Francis Lawrence’s movie, of course, but overall it sticks with the source material to give the scores of audiences who have read all of the books all the major points they expected. Because of that, the ender isn’t exactly what I’d call uplifting, poignant or shocking, but it is true to text.

Following are the 13 biggest changes I noticed in my screening of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay –Part 2. Plenty of other details were changed, of course, and feel free to remark on any changes you feel may have been more noticeable. There are many spoilers in the Mockingjay – Part 2 book to movie comparison. Do not delve in if you want the film to be a surprise.

Collins’ books are told from Katniss’ perspective. In the films, we get behind-the-scenes intel from the other important people involved in the rebellion. Like other films we see Coin and Plutarch making plans. In addition, we also see what Snow is up to.

Katniss and Prim’s dance is more meaningful. At Finnick and Annie’s wedding, egged on by Johanna, Katniss opts to dance with her sister in both the books and the movie. However, only in the movie does she share a long, memorable hug with her sister, which resonates even more deeply when Prim dies later on.

In the movie, Katniss sneaks to District 2. In the books, she is feeling frustrated and asks to be sent to the District; Plutarch and Coin allow her to go. The change in the movie makes sense, though, as it further proves the point that Katniss is impossible to control and causes a bigger rift between her and Coin.

After being shot in District 2, Katniss doesn’t lose her spleen. This is a small detail, but since she only bruises her ribs, it’s a lot easier to see how she gets back on her feet so quickly.

Prim tries to sway Peeta from hating Katniss after he’s been brainwashed. In the books, a character from Peeta’s childhood, Delly, is brought to Peeta's hospital room in order to help him feel closer to his normal himself.

Johanna and Katniss do not room together or train together. Katniss’ healing is sped up since she doesn’t lose her spleen and the two never share a room together or have to train to get back into shape. However, Johanna’s morphling addiction is apparent.

Peeta doesn’t make any strides before being sent out in the field. In the novels, therapy is somewhat working and Peeta is actively trying to get better. He even spends some time training in District 13 and decorating cakes before he is sent off to the front lines. The training in the books makes his ultimate recovery seem a bit more believable.

After the big wave, the Leeg sisters stay behind. In the books, Leeg 1 makes it out and is present when the emergency broadcast goes off later that evening. In the movie, she and her sister hold a group of peacekeepers off while Katniss, Gale, Peeta and others make their big escape.

In fact a lot of the Hunger Games-esque deaths are different. The movie treats all of the extraneous soldiers and camera crew as important, so Jackson and others are given a last stand, rather than simply mentioned off-handedly as being a person who "stayed behind," etc. This amps up the stakes a little in the movie.

Katniss doesn’t kill a civilian of The Capitol. While violence is inherent in The Hunger Games, that moment in the book is a stark example of the casualties of war and the lengths Katniss will go to protect herself and those she cares about. It’s toned down to a PG-13 level for the movie.

Caesar Flickerman gets a brief cameo. The Capitol’s most famous TV personality doesn’t really show up in the third book, but he’s so integral to the film series that Lawrence gives him a cameo when the emergency broadcast announces Katniss and co. are dead, even when they aren’t.

Instead of a televised trial, Haymitch reads a letter to Katniss about the way things turned out. It’s still cool that she killed Coin, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s untimely death likely contributed to the changes in this scene.

Katniss tells her final speech to her baby. There’s a moment inside Suzanne Collins’ book where Katniss watches Peeta and their children play and she remarks she has to actively think about the good things, like it’s a little game. In the movie, she tells her baby these things, that there are worse games to play. It’s a small change, made so we can hear the speech, but for a scene shot in such an idyllic setting, this way of ending is very dark.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Hugh Jackman fares once he hangs up his claws up for good as Wolverine. Is he going to go to more independent content? Or will he remain in the mainstream? Well, we’ve got our first real insight into the direction he plans to take over the next few years, after it was revealed that the Australian actor has signed up to star in The Odyssey.

According to The Wrap, Jackman is currently in talks to take the lead in the big-budget adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, which is going to be overseen by Francis Lawrence, and is being financed by Lionsgate. Jackman hasn't officially signed on to star yet, but a source told the aforementioned publication that discussions are in their early stages.

If Jackman decides that Lawrence’s project is the right one for him, then he would take the role of Odysseus, who is the hero of The Odyssey, which depicts him going on a long, arduous journey back to his home following the end of the Trojan War. And it’s certainly a part that Jackman could easily master, as he has the look of a beleaguered, war-torn soldier. Obviously, I mean that in the best possible way, even though I’m very aware it did sound like an insult.

Jackman is due to finish his tenure as Wolverine with 2017’s Wolverine 3. But before then, we will see him in both Pan and Eddie The Eagle, the latter of which, rather excitingly, will see him embracing a more comedic role.

Francis Lawrence is already used to working on big-budgeted blockbusters for a studio, as he has directed not just The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and the upcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. As these films have grossed a combined total of $1.6 billion, an amount that will rise exponentially when the final installment to the series is released in November, Lionsgate have decided to reward him with an even more ambitious effort.

Like Hugh Jackman, Francis Lawrence will see this as the perfect opportunity to showcase his range and talent outside of the restraint of a franchise. Sure, Lawrence’s work on The Hunger Games sequels has been pretty impressive, but he’ll have been working under very strict guidelines from the studio in order for them to reap the maximum rewards from the series.

With The Odyssey, Francis Lawrence should have a bit more freedom. And as his previous feature films - The Water Elephant, I Am Legend, Constantine - outside of The Hunger Games franchise prove, when he is given the opportunity he can create tense, stylish, and visually arresting films. The Odyssey has all the raw ingredients for this to be the same. Once Lawrence get his leading man we can expect the project to steam into production, but we’re probably going to have to wait until 2017 or 2018 to see it.

The Hunger Games series is drawing to a close on the big screen, as Mockingly Part 2 heads into theaters this fall. In anticipation of the approaching film, the cast, director and producer were here at Comic-Con to talk about the final installment. Among the topics discussed at the Hunger Games press conference was Katniss’ role in the revolution. In the end, being the Mockingjay really isn’t enough for Katniss. She wants to take action.

Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson explained Katniss’ mindset as it relates to her role in the revolution that’s playing out in Panem. As Jacobson explains it, it’s one thing to be a poster child, it’s another to do what needs to be done…

Jennifer Lawrence spoke of her character’s changing mindset over the course of the Hunger Games series, beginning when her main goal was to save her sister Prim, and then to save herself and Peeta. Lawrence explains that that was all rooted in a sense of survival, and that there was no believable hope of a revolution early on in the story.

Those who’ve read the Hunger Games books and/or have seen the movies understand how important Katniss has been for this revolution, but she’s undoubtedly more than just a symbol. The story is told from her perspective, so we've come to know her more for the person she is and not just how she’s perceived by the people in the Capitol and those fighting against it. It’s interesting to note the distinction between symbol and participant, and from the sound of it, Katniss would prefer to be the latter.

Beyond Katniss’ destiny, war will play a key part in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2. As director Francis Lawrence explained it, the final film will emphasize the consequences and complexities of war. And from what Nina Jacobson added to that, it sounds like the media — and more specifically, who’s controlling it — will have a big part in how things play out…

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 arrives in theaters November 20, 2015. If you missed it, check out the video that shows the introduction to the panel at Comic-Con, as well as the new trailer for the film here.