Earlier, we reported about The Hunger Games franchise filmmaker Francis Lawrence directing a feature adaptation of Stephen King's first-written novel 'The Long Walk' for Lionsgate. At CinemaCon yesterday, the distributor announced that the film will release in theatres on September 12 this year. The film features actors Cooper Hoffman, Garrett Wareing, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Tut Nyuot, Roman Griffin Davis, Ben Wang, Josh Hamilton, Jordan Gonzalez, Mark Hamill, and Judy Greer. JT Mollner, the writer-director of last year's subversive thriller Strange Darling, has adapted the book The Long Walk into a screenplay.
Published under King's Richard Bachman pseudonym, the dystopian thriller, set in a dystopian America, follows teenage boys who annually compete in a gruelling walking contest; the last one alive receives their greatest wish, while falling below the requirement thrice results in immediate execution.
"Proud to have been involved with this one, and excited for the world to see it," wrote screenwriter Mollner about the project. Lionsgate calls it "an intense, chilling, and emotional thriller that challenges audiences to confront a haunting question: how far could you go?" At CinemaCon, Lionsgate also unveiled the first look of the film.
Producers on the project are director Lawrence himself, Roy Lee, Cameron MacConomy, and Steven Schneider. The film has long been in the making, with New Line Cinema roping in Andre Ovredal as its director in 2019. Since then, however, there have been changes to the film's creative team.