Happy new year, fellow Constant Readers! As I noted in the last edition of The King Beat before the calendar flipped a page, 2026 won’t necessarily be as exciting for Stephen King fans as 2025 was, as there won’t be nearly as many new King adaptations or books released… but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be plenty for devotees to discuss. Since the launch of this column in mid-2023, there has never been a week without at least some kind of interesting development related to King happening in the world… and that continues to be true in this first full week of January.
This new King Beat features three headlines for your enjoyment: first, a piece from my interview with IT: Welcome To Derry co-showrunner Jason Fuchs about another adaptation he’d like to tackle; second, a quick update from writer/director Mike Flanagan about the process being made with The Dark Tower, and lastly, some thoughts on the news that Netflix is no longer developing The Talisman series. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!
IT: Welcome To Derry’s Jason Fuchs Wants A Shot At Adapting Insomnia
When it comes to exploring the titular town, the HBO series IT: Welcome To Derry is principally focused on material sourced from Stephen King’s 1986 novel chronicling the terror of Pennywise The Dancing Clown, but any Constant Reader knows that the town’s fictional existence goes beyond what’s featured between the covers of IT. The haunted hamlet is namedropped in a number of different books and stories, and it’s a principal setting in a number of others. Insomnia is one of those titles, and while it’s never been adapted before, it’s a tome with some interesting eyes on it – specifically those belonging to Welcome To Derry co-showrunner Jason Fuchs.
When I spoke with the filmmaker last month in advance of the final episodes of the terrific HBO series premiering, I brought up the subject of the future and other King-related projects he’d like to pursue. The first idea that came to mind was a spinoff centered on Chris Chalk’s Dick Hallorann (following his journey from Derry to the Overlook Hotel), but he also explained his desire to see an adaptation of Insomnia – whether or not he is the one to bring it to life. Said Fuchs,
I really like the idea of Insomnia, whether that's a film or a TV show. I'm curious, and again, whether it's something I do or something, I just hope someone else, Mike Flanagan, does it soon. Insomnia is an interesting one because it revisits Derry. It layers on an entirely other mythology, and it is something visually that seems absolutely impossible to execute. And so, generally speaking, if I know exactly how to do something, it's less exciting. I get excited when there's something creatively that I don't have all the answers to.
Not broadly considered to be one of Stephen King’s most beloved books, Insomnia was first published in 1994 and centers on a widower protagonist named Ralph Roberts who finds himself afflicted with the titular sleep disorder. Over time, he finds that his constant state of exhaustion allows him to see into another plane of existence, and this special sight ultimately gets him embroiled in a plot to assassinate a pro-choice activist who is coming to Derry for a speaking engagement.
When Jason Fuchs talks about not knowing about how exactly one would go about adapting Insomnia, it’s because the story is full of wild ideas, including extra-dimensional beings and life strings that can be cut before their time by agents of chaos. Reading the book, one doesn’t have a hard time understanding why Hollywood hasn’t had any success with the story, but that’s exactly why Jason Fuchs wants to see it cracked. He continued,
I don't know how you do Insomnia. You know, the little people with the strings, cutting the strings. How do you do that and not make it look preposterous? I don't have the answer, but the fact I don't have the answer makes me hope that someone somewhere gives it a shot. Because I suspect there's a clever creative solve to that.
At present, there are no public plans for any studio to develop an adaptation of Insomnia, but fingers can be kept crossed for the future.
Mike Flanagan Offers A Brief Update On The Progress Of His Dark Tower Adaptation
In my last King Beat column of 2025, I noted that further news about Mike Flanagan’s Dark Tower adaptation was something I was something I was anticipating as far as King-related developments in 2026… but I honestly didn’t expect to get word so fast. We’re not even double-digit days into the new year yet, but already we have some fresh commentary from the filmmaker about his dream project.
We should actually be hearing plenty of Flanagan-King discourse in 2026 thanks to the fact that the filmmaker’s upcoming Carrie series is the only King adaptation currently planned for release in this fresh calendar year, but he provided a brief update about The Dark Tower in an interview with Empire Magazine (via Deadline). Flanagan has been exceptionally busy of late (in addition to Carrie, he is also making a new Exorcist movie with Scarlett Johansson), but he has ensured fans that progress is being made:
It’s moving. We’ve got a lot of scripts done for it. It’s the first priority.
Is that much to go on? No it is not. Does it amplify my optimism that the adaptation will get made? Yes it does. Does that same optimism also amplify my overwhelming anxiety worrying that that my expectations are being raised prior to major disappointment? No doubt about it.
Why is getting a proper Dark Tower adaptation so important? One can boil it down to two reasons. The first is that it’s an incredible story that is arguably King’s magnum opus, and it deserves a great adaptation just like so many of his other brilliant books. The second is the fact that the only Dark Tower movie in existence is the abomination that was released in 2017.
I’m generally not in support of filmmakers tearing down the works of others (looking at you, Quentin Tarantino), but Mike Flanagan made a blunt point in the interview in discussion of the infamous flop starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey:
We can’t let that be the final word. We really can’t.
If that sentiment alone was the driving force behind Mike Flanagan wanting to get The Dark Tower made, I would have no problem with it, but the larger reality is that his passion for the material is extreme, and I dearly want to see that vision realized.
There are a lot of details that we still don’t know about The Dark Tower (for example, what company will end up handling distribution), but all of those answers will hopefully come in time. Flanagan has previously said that the ideal form would be five seasons of a TV series followed by two features, but he has also likened the process of moving the project along to navigating an oil tanker.
It should go without saying that you should stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the biggest news about the project in the months (and, if we’re being realistic, years) ahead.
I’m Bummed About The Talisman Adaptation Not Happening At Netflix, But It Might End Up Being For The Best
It can officially be said that 2025 will go down in history as one of the best years ever for Stephen King fans… but it can be said that it ended with a kick to the teeth. In the days leading up to the release of the final episodes of Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer revealed that Netflix was no longer developing a series adaptation of The Talisman (a project that first went into development back in early 2021).
As should be clear from the teeth-kicking metaphor, this news can be principally viewed in a negative light, as filmmakers have been trying for decades with zero success to bring The Talisman to either the big or small screen. The fact that we got a proper Long Walk movie first is a wild thing given the creative potency of the wonderful source material. In the hunt for silver linings, however, I can come up with one rather quickly: with Stephen King getting ready to imminently publish the third book in the series, it’s probably for the best that the adaptation isn’t in active development.
For those unaware, The Talisman (co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub and first published in 1984), was followed in 2001 by the King/Straub-authored Black House, and King announced in early summer 2025 that he has completed work on a trilogy capper. At present, nobody knows what fate holds in store for protagonist Jack Sawyer – but regardless of what happens, I would much prefer that any adaptation of The Talisman be made with that knowledge, as it could end up influencing particular story choice and/or foreshadowing
Per Stephen King scholar Bev Vincent (via director Mick Garris), the Netflix project marks the ninth time that an adaptation for The Talisman has started and stalled… but I’m going to remain hopeful that a tenth attempt – with the upcoming book in canon – will be the first to make it to production.
That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but as ever, I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with a fresh roundup of all the biggest headlines from the world of Stephen King.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
