Walk till you die. The first trailer for The Long Walk from director Francis Lawrence reinstates this rule to stars Mark Hamill, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis and Judy Greer. The upcoming film is an adaptation of the eponymous 1979 horror novel from Stephen King and is slated for a release on September 12.
The 2.20-minute-long trailer released by Lionsgate has a group of people walking for miles and days. While it seems like a mere activity where they encourage fellow citizens, it turns into a Hunger Games-like scenario as the rules become more clear: Maintain a certain walking speed or get shot.
Published under King's Richard Bachman pseudonym, the thriller, set in a near-future dystopian America, follows a group of 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.
Hoffman plays Raymond Garraty, a young man mourning the death of his father at the hands of an authoritarian government, with Jonsson as his new pal Peter McVries, and Hamill as the Major, who oversees the Long Walk.
Francis Lawrence is known for directing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2, its prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and the upcoming Sunrise on the Reaping. JT Mollner, the writer-director of last year's subversive thriller Strange Darling, has adapted the book The Long Walk into a screenplay.
Producers on the project are director Lawrence himself, Roy Lee, Cameron MacConomy, and Steven Schneider.