In recognizing the omnipresence of Stephen King adaptations, I like to point out that there have only been nine calendar years since the debut of Brian De Palma’s Carrie in 1976 without a new King movie or a new season of a King TV show, but there are some years that are richer than others. For example, while the only title to be to be released in 2024 was Gary Dauberman’s Salem’s Lot, there are as many as six that could be on their way to mass audiences in 2025.
That sounds like a lot – and I’m not here to say that it isn’t – but I do feel that it’s appropriate to preempt any discussion of “Stephen King fatigue,” as there is more than enough variety in the slate to prevent audiences from struggling with overabundance.
A preview of what’s ahead in the coming year is the main story in this week’s edition of The King Beat, but there is also notable news about Stephen King’s social media habits and a special preview of his latest novel. There’s a lot to explore, so let’s dig in.
2025 Is Promising To Be A Huge Year For Stephen King Adaptations, And The Variety Of Stories Should Halt Any Talk Of “Too Much”
Hollywood pundits love to talk about so-called genre fatigue. To be fair, the film and television industry has a history of overexploiting trends in the wake of standout successes (my brain immediately goes to the vampire and zombie crazes in the ‘00s/’10s), but the last decade is also full of hair-trigger think pieces from trades and movie websites that ponder if a particular tipping point is approaching (warnings of superhero fatigue have been abundant for about a decade now). Thus, with the potential of six upcoming Stephen King adaptations on the way in 2025, the headlines are easy to imagine – but as a dedicated King fan, I don’t think there is any apparent cause for concern.
For one thing, 2025 wouldn’t even be the first year in the last decade to feature the debut of six different Stephen King adaptations. It last happened in 2017 with the premiers of Mr. Mercedes and The Mist TV series on the small screen, the streaming debuts of Gerald’s Game and 1922, and the theatrical releases of The Dark Tower and IT: Chapter One. Even putting that recent precedent aside, however, what’s most substantial in this conversation is the incredible storytelling variety in all of the titles. King’s name should/will be used to promote all of them, but they all have much different experiences to offer audiences.
At the time of this article’s publication, there are two films with set release dates (Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man); two titles that have been penciled in for 2025 (Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck and HBO’s Welcome To Derry series), and two projects that don’t have announced plans but have made it through/to production (Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk and MGM+’s The Institute show). It can’t be said that there doesn’t exist some overlap between the adaptations, but it’s actually pretty incredible how diverse the works are given the single creative source:
The Monkey Release Date: February 21, 2025
Starring Theo James as a pair of estranged twin brothers who are forced to reunite when a deadly toy from their childhood resurrects itself, The Monkey looks as though it will offer some bloody insanity, but the trailer suggests that it may be the first ever Stephen King movie made as horror comedy.
The Running Man Release Date: November 21, 2025
Edgar Wright’s The Running Man starring Glen Powell is the second adaptation of the novel by Stephen King (who published it under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), but the 2025 film promises to be much, much different than its predecessor. While the 1987 movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger put an emphasis on action and fun flash, Wright’s take is said to hone closer to the source material and will be a dramatic thriller that sees a desperate man take on a corrupt system while trying to survive as a contestant on a dystopian game show.
The Life Of Chuck Release Date: Summer 2025
The Life Of Chuck already has a lot of buzz due to the fact that it had its world premiere this fall at the Toronto International Film Festival. The adaptation of the novella of the same name is a life-affirming drama that has appropriately drawn comparisons to Frank Darabont’s modern classic The Shawshank Redemption, and after winning the coveted 2024 TIFF People’s Choice Award, it is already being looked at as a potential Best Picture nominee at the Academy Awards (there is a long history of correlation).
Welcome To Derry Release Date: 2025
The only spinoff/prequel in the mix for 2025, Welcome To Derry will take audiences back into the world from IT and IT: Chapter Two, and it is the only period story in the mix for 2025. The HBO series is set in the early 1960s and a significant point of focus will be the story from Stephen King’s book about a speakeasy established by Black soldiers stationed in Derry, Maine that becomes a target for race-based violence.
The Long Walk Release Date: TBA
The Long Walk is another dystopian tale from the mind of “Richard Bachman,” but while The Running Man will be a thriller, this title is more focused on psychological horror. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the film will see a collection of teenage boys involved in a competitive death march that will see only one survivor walk away with a dream prize – but physically surviving and mentally surviving are two very different things.
The Institute Release Date: TBA
From the minds behind Mr. Mercedes and the 2020 miniseries remake of The Stand, the titular organization in The Institute is a mysterious facility that houses and experiments on kidnapped children who have demonstrated psychic abilities – both telepathic and telekinetic. When a young genius named Luke Ellis finds himself in The Institute after being abducted, he slowly learns the truth about what’s going on and teams with his fellow prisoners to try and organize an escape.
If one were to take Stephen King’s name out of the equation, you could release all six of those titles within the same month and it would be observed as a diverse slate that offers stories for all audiences. Should they all be spread out across the calendar in 2025, it will be a blissful year for Constant Readers and one that can forever be pointed at to illustrate the author’s incredible range as a storyteller.
Stephen King Has A New Social Media Home After Deciding To Leave Twitter
Social media is a landscape chock full of ills, but one of the best things about it is the way in which it allows people to connect to some of the greatest creative minds working today. Stephen King has long been one of the best examples of this, as he has spent years as an active user posting fun musings, strong political opinions, wonderfully cringey dad jokes, and movie/TV recommendations. That isn’t expected to change in the near future – but King has made the decision to change the venue where he is most active online.
This past week, Stephen King announced that he has made the decision to quit Twitter. He hasn’t fully deleted his account and one can still access all of his posts, but he is no longer an active user on the site. He made his goodbye official last Thursday with a goodbye address to his followers:
I'm leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic. Follow me on Threads, if you like.
He has the same username on both platforms (“StephenKing”), and he made his move to Threads a “thing” with a post reflecting on his time on the old site:
I quit Twitter. Eleven years, man. It really changed. Grew dark.
As many have pointed out, it’s pretty wild to see one of the greatest horror writers of all time reflect on Twitter becoming too dark for him.
If you’re a fan of his, he is unquestionably a must-follow regardless of platform – but if you’re not a social media user, you can be sure that I’ll be keeping track of the biggest news from his posts and will frequently be highlighting them here in The King Beat.
You Can Now Read An Excerpt From Stephen King’s New Book, Never Flinch
Earlier in this piece, I noted that there have only been nine calendar years in the last 48 that haven’t seen the arrival of a fresh Stephen King adaptation – but my other most favorite bit of King trivia is that there has only been one year since 1974 without a new a new book from the author (and that was 1976). Next May, the special streak will stay alive with the publication of Never Flinch, the latest adventure featuring detective Holly Gibney, and this week provided a special early look at the new tome.
Originally titled Always Holly, the book was announced this past summer when Stephen King revealed that he took partial inspiration for the story from the Lady Gaga dognapping case. Now, Constant Readers can get their very first taste of the work, as an excerpt has been published by Entertainment Weekly. The preview introduces a mysterious character who goes by the name Trig and is a recovering alcoholic. In addition to his substance abuse issues, he is in a bad mental state after learning that a friend named Buckeye Brandon has been killed in prison (a friend who was locked up for a crime he didn’t commit), and he is very clearly plotting some kind of horrible revenge mission.
It’s an exciting and sinister preview of the new novel, and after reading it, you’ll definitely want to mark your calendar for the book’s release. Never Flinch will be arriving in stores everywhere on May 27, 2025.
That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat, but be sure to head back here to CinemaBlend next Thursday as I’ll have a brand new roundup of Stephen King news that you can enjoy reading as you prepare for your Thanksgiving festivities.
