Despite Stephen King not having much luck on TV lately with Castle Rock being cancelled and CBS’ The Stand being, well, being just about ok, we’re all waiting to see what the horror Mastermind might be bringing to the small screen next.
And, rather excitingly, it’s King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman. Even better? Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is developing the series with Stranger Things’ writer Curtis Gwinn showrunning and bringing it to Netflix!
The book has almost made it to the small screen and the big screen several times in the past with Spielberg and Boone, among others, atttached (here) but maybe this time will be the time… after all, all things follow the beam.
Why had twelve-year-old Jack Sawyer’s mother frantically moved the two of them from Rodeo Drive to a New York City apartment to the Alhambra, a fading ocean resort and shuttered amusement park in New Hampshire? Who or what is she running from? She is dying . . . and even young Jack knows she can’t outrun death. But only he can save her—for he has been chosen to search for a prize across an epic landscape of dangers and lies, a realm of innocents and monsters, where everything Jack loves is on the line.
Spielberg has had attained the rights to the book in 1983, two years before it was even published, with Straub saying in 1996: “Spielberg fell in love with the book before it was published and persuaded Universal to buy the film rights
“[Stephen King and I] went to the Amblin offices on the Universal lot for a long meeting during which it became clear that Spielberg had a great understanding of the story and would have made a wonderful film of the book. However, the project got shelved.”
You have to give it to Spielberg, he’s keen to make this happen.
So, funny story, despite being a life-long fan of King, I only started this book last week, so I’m excited to get it read along with its sequel, Black House.
Another thing of interest is that this book is one of the most strongly connected to the centre of King’s universe, The Dark Tower and, with the final episode of CBS’ The Stand having some serious connections to The Dark Tower, it has us here at FTN HQ wondering if we are growing closer and closer to a Dark Tower series? Perhaps someday soon.
Thoughts? I want to hear them, gang…
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
Nerd Comments