The Long Walk Is Doing A Wild Stunt Screening For The Movie, But It Honestly Sounds Fun

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.