Outside the likes of William Shakespeare, there is no author more frequently adapted for the screen (big and small) than Stephen King. With character-focused works that never forget to bring the chills and thrills, he’s one of the more adaptable writers out there. Naturally, his books in the horror genre find themselves to be the most common picks to end up as a movie or miniseries, but he’s also more than capable of having dramas transported to screens (e.g., The Shawshank Redemption and Hearts in Atlantis) as well as thrillers (11/22/63 and Mr. Mercedes). So, of his many books, which have not been adapted?
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Those are the ones that follow. But it should be noted we’re leaving out short stories seen in collections such as Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, and Four Past Midnight. This is relegated to individual works. Furthermore, given how many King adaptations have entered some level of production over recent years only to stall, there must have been some update on the project’s progress in either 2024 or 2025. Not to mention, books that have adaptations on the way (e.g., The Long Walk, From a Buick 8) were not included.
1) Rage
King started using the Richard Bachman pseudonym early on in his career, but not for long (seven times total). He used it when the novel wasn’t what people typically associated with him and the horror genre in which he made his bones. The first time he did so was for just his fourth novel, Rage. The second time he did so was for his sixth novel, The Long Walk. And, while that 1979 Bachman novel is soon getting an adaptation, Rage never will. It would be an even bigger disaster than Maximum Overdrive, but for a different reason. You can’t even purchase the novel. Why? It’s all about a school shooting, and King himself has (quite rightly) allowed it to fall out of print.
2) Roadwork
King’s third novel as Richard Bachman, Roadwork, is another one that has never seen an adaptation of any type. The plot concerns a man who has become increasingly unstable after his son dies, his marriage falls apart, and he learns that his home and place of work will be leveled to make room for a highway. There were talks for an adaptation produced by Andy Muschietti (of It fame) back in 2019, but there’s been no forward progress since that point.
3) The Talisman / Black House
Outside of The Dark Tower, King’s few fantasy novels have had a hard time receiving adaptations. For instance, The Talisman (1984) and its sequel, Black House (2001), both of which he co-wrote alongside the late Peter Straub. However, a third and final novel in the series, which King is tackling solo out of necessity, is en route, so perhaps this one will get a fire lit under it sooner rather than later. It wouldn’t be the first time discussions around The Talisman would have taken place, along with being adapted in 2008 as a short film and a graphic novel, there were talks in 2021 about a Netflix series.
4) The Eyes of the Dragon
Released the same year as The Talisman, The Eyes of the Dragon was another King fantasy novel that was and remains unadapted. Interesting considering this novel features a character named Flagg, who the author’s fans might recognize as the personification of evil seen in The Stand and the Dark Tower novels. There have been talks surrounding The Eyes of the Dragon in the past, first as an animated film in the early aughts, then as a Syfy series in 2012, and then in 2019 as a Hulu show. None came to fruition, with the Hulu series getting canceled early on in part due to budgetary concerns.
5) Insomnia
After the one-two punch of Gerald’s Game and Dolores Claiborne in 1992, there was a whole King-free year. He came back in 1994 with Insomnia and, like the book that followed it in 1995, it was one he called a “stiff, trying-too-hard” novel. It’s also like that 1995 novel, which we’ll get to in a second, in that it blends horror and fantasy. Like the author’s other fantasy works, it has never been turned into a film or television series. But, in the case of Insomnia, there’s never been so much as a serious talk. Rose Madder, however….
6) Rose Madder
Like Insomnia, Rose Madder is pretty far from the author’s breeziest read. It wouldn’t make for a particularly enthralling film (a hard maybe on it working as a TV series). But, in the case of Rose Madder, there has at least been a discussion about adapting it. Specifically, by HBO Pictures back in the mid-’90s. That fell apart, as did the revised project when it entered development in 2011.
7) The Regulators
As the “mirror novel” of Desperation (which King did attach his name to), The Regulators technically has been adapted. But only technically. There have been discussions regarding a direct adaptation several times, first in 2014 and then in 2022, but nothing really ever came of them. The two Bachman books in between Roadwork and The Regulators, The Running Man and Thinner, did receive film adaptations.
8) The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon wasn’t the first time King had a child as the protagonist of a novel, and as was seen in It and Stand by Me, it’s a direction that works for him. That’s the case for this 1999 novel (which really isn’t far off from a novella), too. It’s a tightly written and fast-paced little psychological horror tale, and it would do quite well as either a movie or a series. And that was certainly a possibility back in the mid-aughts, when none other than George A. Romero was attached to both write and direct a movie. But that take on the project stalled in 2005, and there was no word on another attempt until 2019. That was two years after Romero’s passing, but his production company was still attached, with his wife, Chris Romero, serving as producer. The only other word on it came in 2020, when Lynne Ramsay was announced as the director. But five years is a long time, so it seems the movie is dead in the water.
9) Blaze
Blaze was the final novel published using the name Richard Bachman, but he actually wrote the thing before even his debut novel, Carrie. The reason for its late publication? He found it in his attic. It’s the story of an intellectually disabled con artist who kidnaps a wealthy man’s baby in a way of honoring his deceased partner in crime. An adaptation of Blaze has seemingly never been discussed.
10) Duma Key
Typically, King is associated with having two excellent acts then a major letdown of a conclusion. Duma Key actually peaks with its third act. But, overall, it’s not the first novel of his that springs to mind when one thinks of necessary adaptations. There were loose talks at one point, but they never really got off the ground.
[RELATED: Matthew Lillard Teases How Mike Flanagan’s Carrie Will Be Different from Other Adaptations]
11) Joyland
An underrated King novel, Joyland was his second hardboiled crime novel after The Colorado Kid. That similarly brisk 2005 novel received a loose adaptation on Syfy, but 2013’s Joyland remains sans cinematic take. However, Freeform was developing a series back in 2018, though it never got beyond an initial treatment for a pilot script. As far as adapting his crime work goes, King had better work with his Bill Hodges Trilogy and the excellent Mr. Mercedes series.
12) Revival
Even at 400 pages, Revival is a pretty quick read, especially for those who love subtle references to classic horror from masters such as H. P. Lovecraft. It would make for a fine movie, and back in 2016, there were discussions about that prospect, with Russell Crowe in the lead. Down the road, in 2020, frequent King adapter Mike Flanagan was in serious talks to helm the film, even going so far as to write a first draft of a screenplay. Later that year, Flanagan stated the adaptation was no longer moving forward. Never say never on it getting a new life now that Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck is such a critical smash.
13) Gwendy’s Button Box
The Gwendy Trilogy was odd for King, primarily due to the fact that he didn’t write the second installment. The first one, Gwendy’s Button Box (2017) was co-written with Richard Chizmar, who then wrote Gwendy’s Magic Feather (2019), at which point they once more collaborated on 2022’s Gwendy’s Final Task. This is another project where there haven’t been any discussions surrounding a movie or TV series.
14) Sleeping Beauties
Co-written with his son, Owen, Sleeping Beauties is a sort of a dark, fantastical spin on A Nightmare on Elm Street. The reviews were mixed, but positive enough to spark interest in a television series on AMC. But that was back in 2019, and nothing has really come of it.
15) Elevation
A brief novel tonally closer to something like The Green Mile than The Shining, Elevation is a fun little King book. It’s somewhat similar to Thinner in that it focuses on a man losing weight no matter what he does, but in this case, it’s less focused on a curse and more focused on him floating away. Like with the final entry on this list, director and producer Jack Bender (The Sopranos, Game of Thrones) has stated he’s working on an adaptation, but nothing has been set in stone as of yet.
16) Later
King’s most recent book for Hard Case Crime, Later, is as solid as The Colorado Kid and Joyland, and like with that second book, it hasn’t been adapted in any way. It’s a shame, because it would make for a terrific miniseries.
17) Holly
Holly‘s title character, Holly Gibney, may have been a presence in Mr. Mercedes, but her solo novel has yet to receive a film or series. That said, the novel was released in 2023, and the very same year, like with Elevation, Jack Bender said he was working on an adaptation. So this one seems to be on its way, even if not officially announced.
You can stream plenty of Stephen King adaptations online.
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