Stephen King Addresses Big Change New 'Pet Sematary' Made to His Original Story

Stephen King is not overly concerned with a change made to his 1983 novel, Pet Sematary. An upcoming film adaptation has swapped out one of the Creed family children for another in a key plot point, and while there are those on the internet who were disappointed or angry about it, King says he understands the thinking behind it and that he was supportive of the change. The "outrage" popped up when a trailer spoiled the change, then subsided until this week, when conversation has heated up again around the film because it will be released theatrically on April 5 alongside the next DC Comics adaptation, horror director David F. Sandberg's Shazam!.

In the original novel and 1989 movie adaptation, toddler Gage Creed is hit by a truck and, stricken by grief, his father buries him in sacred ground that leads to his child coming back to life. However, when Gage comes back, he's not the child he was before he died, instead becoming a violent husk of his former self. As seen in one of the film's trailers, instead of Gage being killed, it is his older sister Ellie who dies and is resurrected, with the film offering a new take on the concept. While some fans appreciate the new approach, others were disappointed that we wouldn't see a murderous toddler, in addition to some fans growing disappointed that this narrative twist was confirmed in the trailer instead of revealed in the film itself.

"It's something different," King told EW. "They did a good job. Boy, I saw all the stuff that came online when people realized that it was Ellie rather than Gage that got run over in the road, and I'm thinking like, 'Man, these people…' It's so nuts." He added, "You can take Route 301 and go to Tampa, or you could take Route 17 and go to Tampa. But both times, you're gonna come out at Tampa! You know what I'm saying? It didn't change anything for me. I thought, 'Okay, I understand why they did it, because it's maybe easier to work with a zombie when she's a little girl than a toddler.'"

Not only is it presumably easier to work with the actors when they are old enough to take direction, but it may be easier to sell the visuals, as well; one of the critiques -- even if it was made in jest -- of the original Pet Sematary movie was that Gage did not look big enough that he could not be simply thrown in the oppsite direction when attacking someone straight-on. Fans can see how this new interpretation compares to the source material when Pet Sematary lands in theaters on April 5th. What do you think of this twist? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @ComicBook on Twitter to have your voice heard.

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