The Most Anticipated Stephen King Adaptation Finally Gets Release Window On Max

Summary

• When a new adaptation of Stephen King’s beloved novel was announced by New Line Cinema in 2019, fans were over the moon.
• The creator and team attached to the project added to the hype.
• However, the film fell into production hell and seemed to be completely forgotten.
• Finally, this week we got some new release info.

For fans of Stephen King, every new film adaptation is like buying a lottery ticket. You could win big or lose miserably.

After 2017's 'It' and its 2019 sequel, 'It Chapter Two,' managed to deliver some of the best horror viewing experiences of the past decade, fans were overjoyed to learn that their writer, Gary Dauberman, had decided to take on another King project.

Dauberman and his co-creators seem to have unlocked the secret to a successful King adaptation, so the new film, titled Salem's Lot after the 1975 source novel, has every chance of becoming a hit. It certainly helps that horror legend James Wan is attached to the project as a producer.

Unfortunately, the adaptation fell into production hell, largely ruining audiences' anticipation. But finally, five years after the first announcement, we can mark the date and place to watch Dauberman's Salem's Lot.

Production Hell

Initially, the production of Salem's Lot went according to plan. Lewis Pullman was cast in the lead role of Ben Mears, a writer who decides to come back to his childhood town looking for inspiration and finds a growing vampire nest there.

The film was shot from September 2021 to early June 2022 and was scheduled for a September 2022 theatrical release. However, as things moved into post-production, it was caught up in three major events that threatened its very existence.

First, WarnerMedia, which owned New Line, the movie's production company, merged with Discovery Inc., causing the premiere of Salem's Lot to be pushed back to April 2023 (officially due to COVID-related delays) and then taken off the theatrical schedule altogether.

Then the Hollywood strikes seem to have caused the studios to completely forget about Salem's Lot. It even prompted Stephen King himself to take to X (Twitter) in defense of the film.

‘Between you and me, Twitter, I've seen the new SALEM'S LOT and it's quite good. Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back’, the iconic horror author wrote in February.

New Release Info

Finally, the calls of King and his fans have been heard and a new release window and home for Salem's Lot has been determined.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote earlier this week that Warner Bros. Discovery has decided not to put the movie in theaters at all, but to go straight to streaming. Salem's Lot will land on Max sometime in 2024.

While that wide window hasn't officially been narrowed down, the outlet's sources say a fourth-quarter premiere is likely. Well, it looks like we're in for a tasty Halloween treat this year, right, horror fans?

Source: X, The Hollywood Reporter.