Summary
Stephen King is a name synonymous with horror. His writing has been adapted for the big and small screen for decades, to varying degrees of success. However, King also wrote much darker stories under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. Now, one of “Bachman’s” books,The Long Walk, is heading to theaters, and it officially has a release date.
The Long Walk’s release date places it firmly in the fall movie season, when theatergoers may be looking for spookier and more terrifying movies to enjoy.The Long Walk’s apocalyptic story about a sinister competition will likely resonate with fans of The Hunger Games, and it’s even brought on that franchise’s director, Francis Lawrence.
The Long Walk’s Release Date Will Be June 10, 2025
PerDeadline, Lionsgate announcedThe Long Walk’s release date as September 12th, and presented a trailer at CinemaCon, where Lawrence and star Mark Hamill were in attendance. The footage showed a villainousHamill, who may never play the Joker again, but can still be a great bad guy, firing the starting pistol to begin the grueling competition, in which 100 boys are forced to walk as far as they can without ever stopping. Those who go too slow or can’t keep moving forward are killed. “There’s one winner and no finish line,” Hamill says inThe Long Walk’s trailer. The star, who has played both heroes and villains, seemed to relish the idea of returning to the dark side (since he might alsonot be playing Luke Skywalker anymore), saying “If you can’t be the hero, there’s nothing better than being the villain.” Also starring in the movie are Judy Greer, Cooper Hoffman, Charlie Plummer, and David Jonsson.
Francis Lawrence, who has more than enough familiarity withdirecting movies about children in deadly competitions, expressed his excitement at helming the Stephen King adaptation, citing it as his favorite book by the author. “For me, it was the conceit that was very interesting,” Lawrence said, “You can imagine yourself in the shoes of these young men.“The Long Walkis definitely a harrowing story, one in which the spirits of the main characters are slowly broken down, as they are forced to keep moving despite their growing fatigue and disillusionment. The novel was released under King’s pseudonym, and as the author noted in the afterword to his short story collectionFull Dark, No Stars, it was actually the first book he ever wrote.
Oddly enough,The Long Walkwill not be the only Stephen King/Richard Bachman adaptation released this year, asEdgar Wright’s take onThe Running Manis scheduled for a August 01, 2025 release. That story also coincidentally involves a futuristic competition, in which one man is hunted for entertainment, but can win money by surviving. Originally adapted to the screen in 1987, Wright’s new take promises to be closer to the source material, with Glen Powell stepping into the lead role Also due out this year isThe Life of Chuck, which will see director Mike Flanagan taking his latest stab at the works of King afterGerald’s GameandDoctor Sleep. Far from being a horror movie,The Life of Chuck, based on one of King’s short stories, is a far more existential tale that examines the life of one man and how it ripples outward through the universe. Needless to say, this is shaping up to a be a big year for Stephen King fans.
