Adaptations of author Stephen King‘s films have often been a success at the box office, with so much time having passed since some of his more iconic adaptations allowing new filmmakers to put their own spin on the subject matter, as director Keith Thomas recently shared his excitement about his new take on King’s Firestarter. Rather than being a remake of the previous film, the upcoming project merely marks a new take on the source material, with Thomas claiming that he was looking forward to doing something “new” with the story, while also promising that fans will see all the telekinetic mayhem they would expect from the endeavor.
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“It’s a new adaptation of the book,” Thomas shared with Zavvi. “When [producer] Jason [Blum] pitched it to me it was exciting, as that’s one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and whilst I really like the 1980s film, I felt we could do something new. The screenplay is by Scott Teems who wrote the upcoming Halloween Kills, it’s an amazing script. It has everything you would want; people’s heads catching fire and their faces melting off, and a dad and daughter on the run trying to survive being chased in this heightened tense experience. We are hoping to film it this year, and it will be a lot of fun.”
While King himself typically keeps his distance from adaptations of his work, Thomas confirmed, “He watched The Vigil, approved me as director, and he read the script from the early stages, and he’s very happy with it. He’s excited for it, he’s there the whole way.”
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.”
This is only the latest in a string of revivals of King stories that had previously been adapted, with 2017’s IT proving just how effective it can be to offer a new approach to familiar territory. The trend was continued last year with an updated take on Pet Sematary while a new TV series adaptation of The Stand went into production last year and is headed for CBS All Access.
Stay tuned for details on the new Firestarter.
Are you looking forward to the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
