Stephen King Pitches Dark Take on Classic Christmas Movie

For decades now Stephen King has given us unique contributions to pop culture and the horror genre, but every once in a while he rolls out an idea that’s a riff on something else. Previously King made headlines with an idea he had for his own take on Friday the 13th and its slasher killer Jason Voorhees. Now, with the holidays in sight, King has a pitch for a different kind of Christmas movie, one that brings a dark conclusion to the classic holiday movie It’s A Wonderful Life. 

It all started with King’s funny observation about the film, writing: “Watching a preview for IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE on TCM (waiting for WHITE HEAT) and could swear Jimmy Stewart just said, ‘If you want the moon, honey, I’ll throw an asshole around it.’ (I think he said ‘lasso’).” A reply came in where a fan asked King if he’d ever considered “doing a dark take” on the film, prompting him to add: “At the end of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, Jimmy Stewart appears to have gone crazy and is about the murder his whole family. He’s just got that look.”

As many other Twitter users were quick to note, this idea by King has in fact already been done by The Simpsons. In one episode of the series Bart and Lisa look for an unreleased happy ending for Casablanca, coming across another film cannister that reads  “It’s a Wonderful Life (Killing Spree Ending).” Others naturally drew a connection between King’s The Shining and the occupants of the snow-covered Overlook Hotel, one of his closest narratives to a Christmas-set storyline. 

Though it seems unlikely King will actually get around to making his version of this story, it marks his latest semi-viral tweet that has seen him pitch an idea to his audience. Earlier this year King offered another one of these, simply writing: “How about this for a movie idea?” CHILDREN OF THE CORN VS. PREDATOR. You’d just need the right star.” Many seemed to agree with his idea though, with other King crossovers featuring the Predator being suggested along the way.