Stephen King has a knack for taking ordinary, everyday places and twisting them into nightmares you’ll never shake. And if you thought Hollywood was done mining King’s library, think again.
2025 is shaping up to be a big year for King fans, with fresh adaptations on the way. Some have been stuck in limbo for decades. Others are brand-new spins designed to hook both old fans and newcomers. Here’s a rundown of what’s coming.
The Long Walk – September 12, 2025
Here’s one that’s been trapped in development hell for longer than most of us have been alive. The Long Walk, based on King’s 1979 dystopian novel, finally makes it to the screen thanks to Francis Lawrence, the director behind The Hunger Games sequels.
The premise is brutal in its simplicity. A totalitarian government forces young men into a walking contest where they must keep a steady pace of three miles per hour. Fall behind and you’re shot dead on the spot. The walk continues until only one competitor is left alive.
This adaptation’s history has been a long road of false starts. George A. Romero was supposed to direct it in 1988. Frank Darabont took a shot in 2007 but never made it happen. Even New Line Cinema tried before the rights shifted to Lionsgate in 2023. Now, with Cooper Hoffman leading an ensemble cast that includes Mark Hamill, Judy Greer, and a handful of rising stars, the project is finally real.
September 12 is the date to remember.
It: Welcome to Derry – October 2025
You knew Pennywise would come back. After the success of Andy Muschietti’s two It films, Warner Bros. ordered more. It: Welcome to Derry arrives in October 2025 as a prequel series.
The story is set in 1962, decades before the Losers’ Club fought the clown. Bill Skarsgård returns in full makeup, and that alone is enough to unnerve most viewers. The first season will run for nine episodes, with two additional seasons planned to trace Pennywise’s cycle back to 1935 and even 1908.
Plot details remain limited, but the opening involves a family moving to Derry. Their arrival triggers the nightmare Pennywise has prepared. Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, Chris Chalk, and James Remar join Skarsgård in the cast.
Think of it as Mad Men colliding with small-town horror.
The Running Man – November 14, 2025
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Running Man gained cult status, but it was more of an action spectacle than a faithful King adaptation. Edgar Wright, known for Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead, is bringing a new version that follows the novel more closely. Glen Powell stars as Ben Richards.
The setup feels uncomfortably timely. In a near-future America, a sadistic game show sends contestants on the run while professional killers hunt them down. Richards signs up for the broadcast to win a billion dollars and save his sick daughter. As he survives longer than expected, viewers rally around him while the system begins to crumble under the pressure.
Powell even reached out to Schwarzenegger for his blessing, which is a classy move. Wright’s style suggests the film will deliver action, satire, and suspense in equal measure.
This is one to watch in November.
Carrie – TBD
Mike Flanagan built a reputation with The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, and his earlier King adaptation Gerald’s Game. Now he’s tackling one of King’s most famous works: Carrie.
This eight-episode miniseries doesn’t have a release date yet, but Flanagan announced the project in October 2024. Unlike the 1976 Brian De Palma film or later remakes, this version is expected to follow the book more closely.
Carrie White, a painfully shy teen with an abusive, religious mother, discovers her telekinetic powers and unleashes them after one cruel prank too many. The prom sequence will likely become the centerpiece once again.
Summer Howell stars as Carrie, joined by Amber Midthunder, Matthew Lillard, and Josie Totah, among others. The longer format should give the story more room to build slow tension before the final eruption.
Stephen King adaptations are nothing new, but 2025 has the potential to feel different. These projects carry passion and history, and some of them have been waiting decades to be made. King’s worlds will once again remind us why he holds the crown.
Daniel fell in love with movies at the ripe old age of four, thanks to a towering chest of drawers filled with VHS tapes. Which, let’s face it, was the original Netflix binge-watch. Ever since then, this lifelong movie buff has been on a relentless quest for cinematic greatness, particularly obsessed with sci-fi, drama, and action flicks. With heroes like Nolan, Villeneuve, and Fincher guiding the way, and a special soft spot for franchises where aliens, androids, and unstoppable cyborgs duke it out (think Terminator, Predator, Alien, and Blade Runner), Daniel continues to live life one epic movie marathon at a time.