From ‘The Long Walk’ to ‘The Institute,’ Here’s all the Latest Stephen King News You Recently Missed [Derry Monthly]
Welcome to my 10th column here at Dread Central. Happy 10 to me! And thanks to all of you who have followed me for these 10 columns. And if you’re just discovering it now, no problem, all of the previous columns are still available on the site. Go check it out. For me, it’s nice to be here, talking about Stephen King with all of you. And this time we have a lot to talk about.
Get Ready For The Long Walk
The big news this month has been The Long Walk. It all started at the beginning of May when we got a bunch of photos from the movie. The photos looked really good, and I felt my hopes for this one go up. It’s one of my favorite books by King (or Bachman to be correct), and I’m really looking forward to seeing it. But I’m also worried that they will have ruined it. But after seeing the photos, I felt good.
Later the same day, we got a poster and I was even happier. They’ve definitely gotten the vibe from the original Bachman book. The only thing I wish they had done differently is that they should have written “From legendary author Richard Bachman” instead of “From legendary author Stephen King.” But I understand that not everyone knows the history of Bachman.
Then, just the day after that, we got the trailer. And now I feel very good. Unless the trailer differs a lot from the finished product, I think we are up for an excellent film. It feels like they’ve captured the feeling from the book and actually succeeded in making a movie about people just walking and walking and walking.
We’ll know for sure on September 12, 2025.
More Richard Bachman
Richard Bachman is not just the man behind The Long Walk. He also wrote The Running Man, which is getting a new adaptation on November 7, 2025. However, we’ve only gotten a few images from the set. It premieres roughly two months after The Long Walk, so I’m really curious to see how it will look. It can’t be much worse than the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie from 1987. That film was a good action movie, but not a good Stephen King movie. If I remember correctly, it’s only the title and the main character’s name that the book and the 1987 movie have in common.
With The Long Walk and The Running Man on the horizon, there are only a few Bachman books left to be adapted into a film. Two of the titles left are Roadwork and Rage. We’ll never see an adaptation of Rage, but a Roadwork adaptation would be interesting. Maybe one day…
The Institute And Chuck
We also got photos from The Institute, and that one looks interesting as well. No release date has been announced yet, but it premieres on June 5, 2025, at SXSW London. While they’re only showing the pilot episode at the festival, it indicates we might not have to wait long until the series’ premiere.
Then, on June 6, 2025, The Life of Chuck finally comes to theaters. A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to see a screener. Before I watched, I was worried that it wouldn’t be as good as everyone said, that we would be in a scenario where people didn’t really want to admit that it was a bad movie. No one wants to be the one who says, “You are all wrong,” right?
Well, while I can’t get into any details, I will say this: IT’S JUST AS GOOD AS EVERYONE SAYS! It’s a great movie and I really liked it. I can’t wait to see it at the cinema again when I can.
Stephen King On The Small Screen
I wish I had more info for you about Welcome to Derry by now. I don’t know why we don’t have a premiere date. My guess is that it will premiere in time for Halloween, but that’s less than six months away. I’m not sure why they’re sitting on the release date. Are they pushing it to 2026? Probably not, but please give us some peace of mind!
Oh, and we got confirmation that Matthew Lillard has joined the cast for Mike Flanagan’s Carrie. He also confirms that Flanagan has made some changes to the story to make it relevant today. It’ll be interesting to see what those changes are.
That’s all for this time. Next time, Never Flinch will be out, and we’ll know what Holly is up to this time. Some of you will like it, some not so much, and some probably won’t even read it because it has Holly in it. I urge you to reconsider. Read the book. It’s good.
Until then, take care and read something. If not Never Flinch, maybe the original Hansel & Gretel to prepare for King’s version. That’s what I’m doing.
Categorized:News
