Darabont’s option finally lapsed plus New Line Cinema snapped up the rights in 2018 in the wake of its success with It . James Vanderbilt ( Zodiac , the recent Scream reboot) got the particular script assignment, and in May 2019, Andre Øvredal ( Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark ) was tapped in order to direct . But that was three years ago, New Line parent company Warner Bros. is under new management, and what happens from here is anyone’s guess.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
If you’re dismayed by all the uncertainty surrounding these many King projects, don’t despair: there’s one you can watch any minute now! (Or perhaps already, depending on when you read this. ) Based on a novella from King’s recent In case It Bleeds collection , Mr. Harrigan’s Phone arrives via Netflix on Oct. 5, with director John Lee Hancock ( The Little Things ) presiding over a cast that includes Jaeden Martell ( It ), Donald Sutherland ( The Hunger Games ), and Kirby Howell-Baptiste ( The Good Place ).
Martell stars as a young man who becomes the caretaker for a rich elderly gentleman (Sutherland), even buying the man his first iPhone not too long before the latter passes away. But when the younger man keeps texting his friend as a way to assuage his grief, he discovers that the departed is continuing to text him back from the grave.
Netflix will be well-versed in the King business, premiering original films based upon Gerald’s Game , 1922 , plus In the Tall Grass (co-written by King and his son Joe Hill) during the past few many years. All three have gotten decent to good reviews, so with any luck Mr. Harrigan’s Phone will tide fans more than until some bigger Ruler titles hit the screen.
Pet Sematary Prequel
As if the 2019 remake of Pet Sematary wasn’t horrendous enough (and it was pretty bad), we are apparently getting that most pointless and unnecessary of follow-ups, a prequel . Yet to be given an official title, the film was greenlit in early 2021 with the remake’s screenwriter, Jeff Buhler, returning to pen this one, although first-time director Lindsey Beer reportedly did her own rewrite as well.
The movie is said to be able to explore the particular background associated with the ancient Native American burial ground that is usually the centerpiece of typically the original tale, as well as the town and the earlier life regarding elderly Jud Crandall through the first film. The cast consists of Henry Thomas, Samantha Mathis, Pam Grier, Natalie Alyn Lind, in addition to Jackson White as young Jud. This one’s been shot and is in post-production, with the premiere about Paramount+ slated for a few time in the near future.