Stephen King Novel to Become TV Series by Creators of ‘Stranger Things’
Many of Maine author, Stephen King's novels have been seen on some sort of screen, whether being made into a film or TV series. King is known for his horror novels, and screen adaptions are honestly just as terrifying as his books.
According to Screen Rant, in 1984, King partnered with another horror writer, Peter Straub, to put The Talisman into the world. In case you have not read it, The Talisman is about a young boy (Jack Sawyer) that travels to a parallel world, filled with mystical creatures, to try to help his sick mother by finding a powerful crystal that is said to heal her.
If you are not a reader of King's work, then you may not have known about this novel as it has not been adapted into a movie or TV series. It did however come close in 2019, Screen Rant states that it was under the tentative direction of Mike Barker, the director of Handmaid's Tale.
Stephen King's The Talisman is 656 pages filled with werewolves, gargoyles, and living trees, not to mention the idea of going back and forth between alternate universes. This obviously can make things harder for anyone trying to direct a movie or series off of this novel. It is long and has a lot going on.
Well, after the success of Stranger Things, it seems that the Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross) are not afraid to tackle this novel and make it a TV series. According to Screen Rant, the creators of Stranger Things (the Differ Brothers) took over the rights to make The Talisman into a series in March 2021.
It is hopeful to think this adaption will happen and is going well due to the fact that in the latest season of Stranger Things (season 4), some of King's novel was actually read aloud in one scene.
Screen Rant states that the Duffer Brothers recently discussed the status of the TV series with Deadline and talked about how they enjoy King's work and believe that the fantasy and horror elements from The Talisman are what they love about fiction.
The Duffer Brothers also shared that an initial meeting about the first Talisman episode finally happened, however, everyone is still in the early stages of the project. Ross said "It’s definitely a dream project. In terms of when it’s going to get made. I don’t know. We just had a meeting about it, but it’s just an outline for the first episode. It’s a ways off but we’re really excited about it."
Granted we do not have a timeline of when we will be able to see this King novel adapted, it is exciting to know that the Duffer Brothers are on this project.