Frank Darabont Almost Brought Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” to Life Years Ago

Frank Darabont Almost Brought Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” to Life Years Ago
Image credit: Scribner, Legion-Media, Dimension Films, Lionsgate

There were many directors in line for Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” adaptation, and The Shawshank Redemption’s helmer was one of the frontrunners — here’s who is bringing the novel to the big screens in the end.

Over the decades of his work in both literature and movie fields, Stephen King has collaborated with a bunch of prominent directors, but no one might be able to beat Frank Darabont’s supremacy in this regard.

Starting with 1994’s Shawshank Redemption, the director helmed three of the best movie adaptations on Stephen King’s list, with it going further to 1999’s The Green Mile and 2007’s The Mist.

All three eventually came to be a cult classic, promising Darabont a blossoming career path once he chose to continue with King’s adaptations in the future.

At some point he did plan another film based on the author’s horrifying dystopian novel, though it’s being released only this year — and it’s not Darabont who was directing.

Frank Darabont Planned to Adapt Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” After ‘The Mist’

Frank Darabont Almost Brought Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” to Life Years Ago - image 1

The Mist’s box office success was yet another reason for Darabont to sign up for a multi-movie deal with King who praised all of the director’s adaptations, and the fourth movie was actually in plans.

Sometime later after The Mist’s release back in 2007, Darabont revealed he was eager to adapt King’s 1979 novel “The Long Walk”, a dystopian story that Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” might have gotten some inspiration from.

“Somewhere down the line, I'll be [directing] 'The Long Walk,' which is another Stephen King piece [published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman]. And when I make that, that'll be even lower budget than 'The Mist' was. It'll be weird, existential, and very contained, like the story. A bit more of an arthouse film than anything”, Darabont said in an interview with UGO in 2008.

Eventually, the movie never happened and the reasons for that remain unknown; however, “The Long Walk” is still getting an adaptation anyway.

Francis Lawrence Is Releasing ‘The Long Walk’ This Fall

Frank Darabont Almost Brought Stephen King’s “The Long Walk” to Life Years Ago - image 2

Ironically, it’s The Hunger Games’ director Francis Lawrence who actually took over the rights for Stephen King’s novel from Frank Darabont at some point.

Several months ago, Lawrence teased the upcoming movie, saying it took him (just like his fellow directors) years to try and adapt “The Long Walk” for the big screens.

“It's one of — if not my favorite — Stephen King novels. It was something that actually crossed my desk years ago, not long after I finished Constantine. It was when I was doing I Am Legend, and I wanted to do it, but Frank Darabont actually scooped up the rights. People have tried to make it over the years, and never could”, Lawrence admitted in an interview with Collider in February.

The Long Walk is currently set to be released in theatres worldwide on September 12.

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