Summary
Stephen Kingappears to be having a bit of a renaissance this year. Granted, when someone has written as many stories as the famed horror author has, it’s hard not to find one that can either be adapted for movies or television or both. Now one of his newer tales is being picked up from the scrap heap and revived.
One thingStephen Kinghasn’t written a ton about is straight-fantasy tales. It appears that his most recent entries in that particular genre was attractive enough that A24 decided it needed to forge a partnership with the famed author,director and sometimes actor. In forming this partnership, the company is saving what had been a failed movie and is instead formulating a television or streaming series.
Stephen King’s Fairytale Gets Series Greenlight
Deadlinereported that A24 and Stephen King have come to an agreement to forge a 10-episode series based on the fantasy novel,Fairy Tale. The project was originally set to be a feature film with Paul Greengrass - who is a self-professed fan of King - who had already written one script. With the change to a series it’s expected that Greengrass will still be in the middle of the project and will work on expanding what he’d already written in order to make it a show rather than a film. However, Greengrass will now work with J.H. Wyman, who is expected to be the showrunner andwhose credits includeFringe,Almost HumanandDebris. While Wyman will helm the project, it’s thought that Greengrass will also still direct at least a few of the episodes. He had originally scored the deal with King for the usual agreement of $1 with a healthy backend payout.
Fairy Talefollows a 17-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a portal and enters a terrifying world where good and evil are at war. The stakes of the battle to both the boy’s world and the one he journeys too are immense.Fairy Taleis essentially just the second book that King has written that involves far more fantasy, knights and wizards than monsters or slashers. Thefirst wasEyes of the Dragon, which was also getting its own series at one time, however the project was canceled in 2020.
Fairy Taleis just the latest Stephen King project in recent years. Earlier this month, a new adaptation of his vampire invasion taleSalem’s Lotaired on HBO Max. A new adaptation of the futuristic game showThe Running Manis also in development, and the first trailer for Oz Perkins’The Monkeywas released recently as well. That film isdue out next February.
BothThe MonkeyandFairy Talestand out whendiscussingStephen Kingadaptations in the works becausethey haven’t been adapted just yet. For now, there is no word on what serviceFairy Talewill air, but there is expected to be a bidding war for the project.
Stephen King
Stephen King is one of the most prolific living authors. A master of horror, King’s classic works include The Shining, Carrie, Cujo, It, and the Dark Tower series. Many of his books and short stories have been adapted to film and television, including The Shawshank Redemption, Lisey’s Story, 1408, Secret Window, and The Stand.
