As far as pop culture legacy is concerned, Stephen King is far more than a name printed on the cover of some of the most beloved fiction of the last 50-plus years; the man is an icon. In addition to his stories stretching across multiple mediums, King is a man recognized around the world: known for his lanky frame, glasses, long philtrum, and unmistakable Maine drawl. Of course, this famous image of the beloved author has become recognized the world over in part because of the multitude of film and television cameos that he has made in adaptations of his books over the years – but it would appear that part of his career may be coming to an end.
This week’s edition of The King Beat is a special one, as this is my 100th column in this series, and there is much to discuss– starting with a scoop regarding Stephen King’s future doing cameos and followed by news of an amazing new project to which the writer will be contributing in the coming months. There’s a lot of cool stuff to discuss, so without further ado, let’s dig in!
The Institute Filmmakers Discuss The Stephen King Cameo That Didn’t Pan Out For The MGM+ Show
Stephen King’s history making cameos dates back to 1981: his friend and frequent collaborator George A. Romero wrote and directed the feature Knightriders about a group of motorcycle-riding medieval reenactors, and the filmmaker had both King and his wife Tabitha make an appearance in a scene as spectators – with the former credited as “Hoagie Man” in reference to the character munching on a giant sandwich while cheering on the performers. That part was followed by memorable appearances in movies and TV shows including Maximum Overdrive, Pet Sematary, Sons Of Anarchy, Under The Dome and more… but if recent comments are to be taken at face value, it may end up being that his cameo as a shopkeeper in Andy Muschietti’s IT: Chapter Two from 2019 will be reflected upon as his last.
A few weeks ago, the lead story in The King Beat focused on a recent cameo that didn’t pan out – with the author revealing that he had been offered the chance to make an appearance in MGM+’s The Institute series but couldn’t make it work due to travel issues stemming from chronic back pain. Naturally, I wanted to know more about the part he was meant to play, and CinemaBlend’s Nick Venable recently got the scoop from filmmakers Jack Bender and Benjamin Cavell during the new King show’s virtual press day.
To start, Bender (who directs all the episodes of The Institute in addition to being a producer) explained that it wasn’t his first effort to get Stephen King to make a special appearance. In 2014, he helmed the Season 2 premiere of Under The Dome, which briefly features King as a coffee-seeking diner patron, and he more recently played a slaughtered line cook in a Season 1 episode of Mr. Mercedes (an effort that required the writer to face one of his greatest fears). But while things worked out on those shows, Bender told us that King’s attitude toward cameos has shifted in recent years:
On Mr. Mercedes, he came to the set, and it was a massacre that was happening in the mind of our hero villain, and he's seeing all these dead people that he's killed in this diner. And I said, 'Will you be in a shot for me?' And he said, 'Sure.' So we got a hatchet, and I had him be a chef, and we put a hatchet in his head, and he's sitting there like this (pretends to splay out). But I knew he probably wasn't gonna get to the set, and he said to me, 'Ahhh, cameos. I'm not doing that so much anymore. Sometimes it's not a good thing.'
I personally have to respectfully disagree, as I am ever-delighted whenever Stephen King makes an appearance on screen (I even giggled just seeing a simple photo of him on a poster in an episode of the 2020 miniseries adaptation of The Stand). However, the author apparently doesn’t think that his presence is always a net positive for adaptations of his stories. Per Benjamin Cavell, the head writer on The Institute, the author thinks his appearances can be “distracting” – but he also revealed the significant role for which King was being considered:
Yeah, he worries that it's distracting, which I think it can be. I mean, there was this notion, I don't even remember who suggested it, but there was this notion at some point that he might play The Lisping Man, which I think he, by the way, before anybody else, said, 'I think that's really a mistake.' He said, 'You know, I think you need an actor for that.' I mean, we got just an incredible actor for it. But yes, there's too much narrative weight on that character, I think, to make it Stephen. But look, in Season 2, who knows what he'll want to come in and do? Anything he wants, I guess.
For those of you who have not read Stephen King’s The Institute, first published in 2019, The Lisping Man is a mysterious and shady character who shows up at the end of the book and spells out the larger, disturbing stakes involved in everything that transpired in the story (to provide any more details would be getting into spoiler territory for both the novel and the new TV series). It’s a small part that King would have been perfect for – so I am ultimately disappointed that this didn’t work out.
As for who plays the role instead… you’ll have to wait and find out, as The Institute is presently just two episodes into its eight episode run, with the show debuting this past weekend. Looking to catch up? You can do so with an MGM+ subscription, and you can look forward to the next episode premiering this coming Sunday – titled “Graduation.”
Stephen King Is Contributing To A New Fiction Project Reporting News From The Post-Apocalypse
Stephen King will be turning 78 later this year, and he has threatened retirement many times in the past, but he remains as productive as ever. As I like to frequently point out in this column, there hasn’t been a calendar year without at least one new King book since 1976, which was the year between the publications of Salem’s Lot and The Shining, and he shows no signs of slowing down. His latest novel, Never Flinch, was just released earlier this summer, he has told fans that he has finished writing the first draft of the untitled Talisman 3 (his follow-up to The Talisman and Black House), and he also has a new version of Hansel & Gretel arriving in bookstores in a couple months – featuring artwork by the legendary Maurice Sendak.
But that’s not the end of the list! Per Fangoria, he also has another iron in the fire with The End Times – a new literary experiment created by comic book writer/novelist Benjamin Percy. The project is envisioned as a newspaper set in a post-apocalyptic world, with new issues being published monthly, and Stephen King (writing under a pseudonym) is one of the authors contributing.
The premise behind the project is that the world has ended thanks to a devastating pandemic, and a woman has found an old printing press that she uses to try and spread news to the few survivors left in the world. She eventually enlists other writers to contribute, and Stephen King will be writing as one of those voices. Percy explains in the new episode of The King Cast:
I’m not going to give too much away, but let’s just say some of what I already have in my inbox involves scarecrows with large button eyes and dead rats and bodies dangling from the rafters of barns. You know, the Stephen King special.
Subscriptions to a limited run of physical newspapers have sold out, but if you want to receive The End Times digitally, with new issues arriving in your inbox monthly, you can place pre-orders now on the project’s main website (it will cost you just $15 – and once they hit 500 subscriptions, $1 from each additional subscription will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union). Once you sign up, you can anticipate articles about the end of the world dropping into your inbox starting this November.
That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat – but I’m still not anywhere near stopping now that I have hit triple digits. As I have been for the last two years, I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with another brand new column digging into the latest developments from the world of Stephen King. In the meantime, those of you looking to learn more about the expansive history of King’s stories on the big and small screen should check out my series Adapting Stephen King.
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