The streaming age has been quite good to Stephen King. In 2016, Hulu produced an original limited series based on the novel 11.22.63, and since then we have seen just about all of the major services get into the game: Hulu has since aired the show Castle Rock; Netflix has made Gerald's Game, 1922 and In The Tall Grass; Paramount+ hosts the most recent adaptation of The Stand; and AppleTV+ just released Lisey's Story this past summer. There are many more projects that are presently in the works, but now Hulu is getting set to get back in the game by developing their first King feature adaptation – specifically one based on the short story The Boogeyman.
Deadline has written about this new streaming project coming together, noting that Rob Savage has been set to direct, and that production is expected to begin shortly after the start of 2022. It's a big development for the film, which has been in the works for a number of years now. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, best known as the writers behind A Quiet Place, were first hired by 20th Century Fox to develop the adaptation in June 2018, but it has been in a state of limbo ever since in part due to the purchase of Fox by the Walt Disney Company.
The new trade report notes that Malignant screenwriter Aleka Cooper also worked on the original drafts of The Boogeyman, but currently Black Swan writer Mark Heyman is developing the script. Shawn Levy and his producing partners Dan Levine and Dan Cohen are producing the project via their 21 Laps banner.
Originally printed in the adult magazine Cavalier and eventually included in Stephen King's 1978 collection Night Shift, the short story tells the story of a man named Lester Billings who believes that his three children have been murdered by what he believes is a malignant supernatural being he refers to as The Boogeyman. King employs a narrative device that sees Billings explain what has happened to a psychiatrist named Mr. Harper, with "flashbacks" recounting what happened to his kids, and it concludes with a killer and disturbing twist.
For those who aren't familiar with the name, Rob Savage is a director on the rise who has been getting a lot of attention for his work in the horror genre. While his filmography is primarily comprised of shorts, be broke out in a big way in 2020 with Host – a Shudder exclusive that sees a group of friends connect via a Zoom call during the pandemic to hold a séance. We may have just passed Halloween, but if you haven't seen the movie yet, you can consider it highly recommended.
If The Boogeyman does stay on schedule to begin principal photography in the early months of next year, that means we will surely start to hear casting announcements very soon – so be on the lookout for those here on CinemaBlend as they roll in. In the meantime, to get the lowdown on everything that is currently happening in the world of Stephen King adaptations, check out our Upcoming Stephen King Movies And TV guide.
