Following last year's huge hit, IT, Stephen King is in vogue once again, which apparently means it's time to see what other Stephen King books are due for adaptation. One of Stephen King's best selling novels has actually never been on the big screen before, which may be why The Tommyknockers is now being pitched by James Wan and IT producer Roy Lee.
It seems that The Tommyknockers is in the earliest stage of development as James Wan, the man behind the Conjuring franchise, and Roy Lee, along with Larry Sanitsky, who currently holds the film right to The Tommyknockers, just started hitting up studios looking for a place to produce the feature. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the concept was sent to streaming services such as Netflix as well as studios who produce for the big screen, so if this project does move forward, it may not necessarily end up in theaters.
The Tommyknockers is the story of a small town in Maine (because Stephen King) where a long-buried alien spacecraft is unearthed. The alien material gives the townspeople unique abilities, but it also turns out to be incredibly addictive, leading some to become violent and destructive.
Similar to the recent box office smash that was IT, The Tommyknockers has previously been adapted for the small screen as a television miniseries. It starred Jimmy Smits and aired in 1993. There were plans for it to be adapted as a miniseries again a few years ago, but nothing ever came of it.
One person who may not be all that excited to see another adaptation of The Tommyknockers is Stephen King himself. The author has previously called it an "awful book," admitting that he was dealing with own drug problem at the time that he wrote it. King has been more involved in some of the recent adaptations of his work, perhaps, if he stays close to this one, a new film version can actually improve on the original by fixing whatever issues the author sees.
The fact that The Tommyknockers may not have been great had no impact on its success, as it stands as one of King's best selling novels ever. That fan base, combined with the recent success of IT, will likely make a Tommyknockers adaptation a hot property.
Of course, not everything that Stephen King touched has become cinema gold. There's as much chance that Tommyknockers could be the next IT as there is it could be the next The Dark Tower. Generally speaking, however, King's work has done well with adaptation, and if the magic that happened with IT can happen again, then fans will be all for it.
