Two Stephen King adaptations are putting one foot in front of the other this year. Besides Edgar Wright and Glen Powell taking on The Running Man, there’s also the master of dystopian disasters, Francis Lawrence, heading on The Long Walk, which has just released a brand new trailer, evoking the stroll of Stand By Me, with the horror of The Hunger Games.
Initially written by King in 1979, The Long Walk is set in an alternate United States where 100 young men are tasked with walking nonstop along U.S. Route 1. The race requires them to maintain a steady pace of 4 miles per hour, but if they drop below it for more than 30 seconds on three separate occasions, they will be shot on sight. The winner of the race can ask for whatever they want for the rest of their life.
The film is littered with a host of impressive young talent, including Cooper Hoffman, Alien: Romulus star David Jonsson, Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis, and recently appointed Karate Kid, Ben Wang. Ensuring that none of them take a step out of line and keep up the pace is Mark Hamill as The Major, who is their twisted observer that has no issue with giving the order to stop them dead in their tracks.
It marks the second King adaptation that Hamill has appeared in this year, after starring in The Life of Chuck, directed by Mike Flanagan. It’s his previous director that the Star Wars legend also thanked for getting this role, which proves to be a menacing piece of work.
You can see how things end up for The Long Walk when it arrives in theaters on September 12. Should you fancy watching one of the many Stephen King stories brought to life before then, here’s our ranking of the best adaptations of the author’s works.
