Stephen King’s ‘Firestarter’ Reboot Gets Director

Author Stephen King has crafted countless compelling tales of terror, leaving movie studios to easily find inspiration by diving into his impressive catalog of stories. Not all adaptations are as successful as others, leading studios to take another pass at bringing to life a previously adapted story. The 1980 novel Firestarter was previously adapted into a film in 1984, though a new approach is on the way from recently-announced director Fatih Akin.

King’s official site describes the story, “The Department of Scientific Intelligence (aka ‘The Shop’) never anticipated that two participants in their research program would marry and have a child. Charlie McGee inherited pyrokinetic powers from her parents, who had been given a low-grade hallucinogen called ‘Lot Six’ while at college. Now the government is trying to capture young Charlie and harness her powerful firestarting skills as a weapon.”

Akin delivered audiences last year’sIn the Fade, which took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language.

One of the more notable elements of the original Firestarter is that it starred a young Drew Barrymore, with the film helping pave the way for a lifetime of impressive performances.

If the concept of the story sounds familiar, it might be because the concept was a heavy influence on Stranger Things, which depicts a young girl who has telekinetic powers and escapes from a secretive government organization.

“We’re big movie nerds — that’s what we wanted to do,” said Matt Duffer at San Diego Comic-Con, describing the genesis of the show he created with his brother Ross.

“We started to get into television as it became more cinematic,” he added, Variety reports.

The brothers shared that they asked themselves, “what would be the ultimate long movie — Spielberg directing a big, fat Stephen King book. That was the dream, that was the ambition,” Ross said.

Last year saw a significant moment in the world of Stephen King, as the new adaptation of IT hit theaters and went on to gross more than $700 million worldwide. Having previously been adapted into a TV series in the early-’90s, pundits were apprehensive about how successful the film could be, only to have all expectations exceeded.

In hopes of updating more of King’s classic stories, a new adaptation of Pet Sematary has begun production, having previously been adapted in 1989. A new adaptation of The Tommyknockers, brought to life in a 1993 miniseries, will be hitting theaters in 2020.

Stay tuned for details about the new Firestarter.

Which other King stories do you think deserve another adaptation? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Variety]