Jashandeep Singh
The movie adaptation of Stephen King‘s novel ‘The Long Walk’ is in development at Lionsgate. The movie is slated to start filming in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 22 and conclude by September 17. Francis Lawrence is helming the movie based on a screenplay by J.T. Mollner. The project was initially set up at New Line but made the move to Lionsgate in November 2023. Cooper Hoffman (‘Licorice Pizza’) and David Jonsson (‘Industry’) headline the cast.
The 1979 novel, written by King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, is set in a dystopian future and revolves around a grueling and deadly event known as the Long Walk, an annual competition in which 100 teenage boys must walk at a steady pace without stopping. If a participant stops, he is given a warning and is shot dead if he receives three warnings in an hour. The last one walking wins the competition and earns whatever he wants for a lifetime. As the deadly contest goes on, the boys form strong friendships despite competing with each other in a life-and-death situation.
Over the years, many attempts have been made to adapt the novel into a feature film. Back in 1988, George A. Romero, the director of the ‘Night of the Living Dead’ film series, planned to make a movie based on the novel but things did not move forward. Then Frank Darabont (‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Mist’) got the rights for the adaptation but the same expired before he could start work on the film.
In 2018, the project finally landed at New Line Cinema, with James Vanderbilt (‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ and ‘Murder Mystery’) writing the script. The subsequent year, André Øvredal (‘The Autopsy of Jane Doe’ and ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’) was announced to be directing the film. While there were no further developments for over a year, in 2020, Øvredal confirmed in an interview that the project was “alive and well and moving along.” However, the movie did not begin production, and in August 2023, Øvredal announced that he was no longer directing the film.
Lawrence is known for helming the action-adventure film ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,’ Keanu Reeves’ horror fantasy ‘Constantine,’ and Will Smith’s action drama ‘I Am Legend.’ His most recent work as a director is ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,’ the fifth installment in ‘The Hunger Games’ movie series. Mollner’s credits include works such as ‘Outlaws and Angels.’
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