After The Long Walk, There Are 5 Other ‘Unadaptable’ Stephen King Stories That I Want To Become Movies

Call me an optimist, but I’m of the opinion that an “unadaptable” novel is like the four-minute mile: something that’s only viewed as impossible until it’s proven not to be. Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho was deemed too extreme for the big screen when it was published… but then Mary Harron’s film arrived nine years later. Nobody thought proper live-action Lord of The Rings blockbusters were doable until Peter Jackson got his crack at them – and the same goes for Denis Villeneuve and Dune. Now, we’ve seen it happen twice with the works of Stephen King: first, Mike Flanagan actually managed to make a movie based on the thriller Gerald’s Game, and more recently, Francis Lawrence brought to life the dystopian nightmare that is The Long Walk.

So now that the impossible has been proven possible with The Long Walk, what’s the next King story that should get the opportunity to slay its “unadaptable” reputation? Following last week’s analysis of the new film’s ending, I’ve opted to dedicate this fresh edition of The King Beat to answering that question – in addition to highlighting a new pre-order that physical media collectors may want to jump on sooner rather than later. There’s a whole lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!

6 Never-Adapted Stephen King Stories That Could Be Worth Overcoming Challenges To Make As Movies

To be totally fair to those who ever dubbed The Long Walk to be unadaptable, Hollywood really did its best to give the book that label with an extended history of false starts. Discussion of a potential film dates back to the late 1980s when George A. Romero showed interest in making it, and that was followed decades later with efforts made by Frank Darabont (who hoped to helm it as his follow-up to The Mist) and André Øvredal. Both the logistics of the production and the unrelenting grimness of the material combined to give the sense that the novel wasn’t really suited for the big screen – but director Francis Lawrence and screenwriter JT Mollner proved everyone wrong by not only making the movie, but by making a terrific movie.

With the film’s success, I find myself wondering how that magic can be parlayed to adapt other seriously challenging works, and I’ve collected a list of six other Stephen King titles that I’m now more confident than ever can be made as movies.

Revival

Filmmakers Mike Flanagan and Josh Boone have both attempted to bring an adaptation of Revival to the big screen, each getting versions of the story into development, but neither was able to get to the point where cameras started rolling… and I admittedly get it. The story is epic in its scope, tracing the relationship of its protagonist and antagonist across multiple decades, and the material is both scary and heavy – dealing with subject matter including extreme grief and addiction. It is also packed with the most upsetting ending that Stephen King has ever crafted, and yes, I am fully factoring in the end of The Long Walk. The issues that stand in the way of this novel being adapted are obvious, but that does nothing to curb my hope to see an adaptation someday.

Roadwork

Between The Long Walk and Edgar Wright’s upcoming remake of The Running Man, Stephen King’s Richard Bachman books are having a fun little moment in 2025, so why not keep that train going? Thinner is already a (bad) movie, and I have no interest in ever seeing a film based on the notorious story Rage, but I’m very much anticipating a filmmaker someday trying to tackle Roadwork. It’s a novel that is brimming with fury and deviant energy – following a man who refuses to move from his home amid demolition plans for his entire neighborhood – which is why I can understand studios staying away, and it’s another King title that doesn’t ultimately leave you with happy thoughts about humanity and society. That said, it’s powerful storytelling that could make a great film.

The Talisman

I’ll admit that I’m expressing some impatience here, as The Talisman is technically in active development as a Netflix series… but the project has been cooking for over four years now, and I’m starting to lose faith that it will move forward. That being the case, I feel appropriately compelled to re-raise my hand in support of seeing an adaptation happen someday, whether it’s in the form of a TV series or a feature. In addition to being an epic fantastical adventure that follows a young hero on a noble quest across parallel realities to save his dying mother (its scale admittedly contributing to its “unadaptable” streak), the material comes ready to develop sequels, as there is not only the sequel book Black House, but King is also currently working on what is simply known for now as The Talisman 3.

From A Buick 8

To be fair within this whole conversation, From A Buick 8 is a novel that really doesn’t lend itself to straight adaptation because of its structure: there is no real “beginning,” “middle,” and “end” to the work, as its focus is on a collection of police officers discussing their strange and unexplainable experiences with an otherworldly entity that takes the form of an old Buick Roadmaster. A key aspect of the book is trying to grasp the seemingly senseless aspects of life, which is a hard idea to get across in a feature, and its odd structure makes things all the more complicated, but I still want to see a film version happen someday.

The Library Policeman

The novella “The Library Policeman” is another instance of an “unadaptable” reputation stemming from a mix of extreme darkness and taboo content. The story of a man who finds himself entangled with a malicious entity that has taken up a residency at the local public library, it’s a King tale that’s relatively simple but really great at creeping under your skin – and it becomes wholly shocking by the time it reaches major revelations in its third act (which I won’t spoil here for anyone who hasn’t read it). I respect that this would not be an easy movie to make, but I could see it being a blisteringly effective one.

Time will tell if any of these stories eventually make it to the big screen. For now, The Long Walk is presently playing in theaters everywhere – and before too long, it will be making the jump to the home video market…

Stephen King Physical Media Collectors May Want To Jump On Pre-Orders For The Limited Edition Steelbook For The Long Walk

If I’m being perfectly honest, The Long Walk is the kind of title that I might balk at buying on physical media under general circumstances. After all, the reason why I purchase movies on 4K UHD/Blu-ray is because I have a proclivity for rewatching stuff, and the devastating Francis Lawrence film is most certainly not a work that one can just casually throw on during a rainy Saturday afternoon when I’m looking for some entertainment. That being said, I am also a completist when it comes to the never-ending task of building the Ultimate Stephen King Collection, and the announced limited edition Steelbook of The Long Walk is a must-have in my book.

Even though the new film just arrived in theaters this past weekend, Lionsgate has already tipped its hand when it comes to home video plans, and pre-orders are now open for a very cool special edition release on Amazon. The exclusive features not only beautiful original artwork – the cover being a close-up of Mark Hamill’s The Major – but it has a special plastic slipcover. The two disc package includes both the film on 4K UHD and Blu-ray, and there are some exciting special features promised. In addition to there being a trio of featurettes (including “Stephen King: An Appreciation,” “Cooper & David Scene Read,” and the multi-part documentary “Ever Onward: Making The Long Walk), there is also promise of an alternate ending, and I am beyond fascinated to learn how it is different than the theatrical cut.

Without getting too deep into spoilers, the movie makes some significant changes from Stephen King’s book – so could it be the case that the alternate ending is a more faithful adaptation? If so, that would make the conclusion much different than what is included in the theatrical version and provide the work with a very different impact. Needless to say, I am fascinated to discover how it stands apart, and I’ll be sure to report on it at the earliest possible opportunity.

The set is currently available for pre-order at the price of $34.99, though a release date has not yet been announced. And while I hate to be the source of FOMO, copies will likely sell out before too long, so you may want to lock in an order now (you can always cancel anytime).

With that, this week’s edition of The King Beat comes to a close… but for those of you who can’t get enough of reading about Stephen King should fret not: I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next week with another new column exploring all of the coolest and most exciting developments happening in the world of the author. And while you wait for the next roundup of headlines, you can explore the long history of King’s stories in film and television with my expansive series Adapting Stephen King.