Summary
Considering how popular the AMC dramaThe Walking Deadremains to this day, it’s no wonder that equally popular authorStephen Kingcounts himself as a fan. According toComicbook.com, in 2018, he tweeted a query about how realistic one particular scene was. Viewers have been having fun discussing the best storylines and most perplexing zombie elements for years now, and thankfully, there areseveral spinoffs for fans to become invested in.
Since King pens sci-fi and horror stories about kids in small towns, that incredibly creepy clown, and other things that go bump in the night, it’s no wonder that some of his work will also appeal to fans ofThe Walking Dead. There isone upcoming adaptation of a smart and moving Stephen King storythatThe Walking Deadfans should look forward to.
TheLong Walkis a post-apocalyptic story about 50 teenage boys competing as they go for a “Long Walk"and stars Mark Hamill and Judy Greer. With a script by JT Mollner and directed by Francis Lawrence, who is known for directingThe Hunger GamesprequelThe Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,The Long WalkandThe Walking Deadshare a dystopian setting. WhileThe Long Walkisn’t about zombies, both stories examine characters dealing with the end of the world as they knew it and wondering where to go.
The Long Walk,which King decided to publish as his pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1979, can be considered a blend ofThe Walking DeadandThe Hunger Games.The Long Walkfeatures characters living under a totalitarian regime and has a similar bleak tone to Suzanne Collins’s story, which has an unsettling atmosphere of several areas including The Capitol andthe mysterious District 13. The Long Walk and The Hunger Games are bothpopular competitions that put young people in unnerving and dangerous situations. They also serve as entertainment for the rest of the population.
While Negan Smith (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is auniquely terrifyingThe Walking Deadvillain, fans also appreciate the AMC drama because oflikable and relatable characters like Rick Grimes. If every character was as evil as Negan, the show would feel disappointing and one-note. Instead, the layered characters make every episode appealing and hard to stop watching. InThe Long Walk, the main character Raymond Davis ‘Ray’ Garraty is a teenage boy who audiences can connect with. Both Rick and Ray go on journeys that they never thought they would, and their adventures are fascinating to follow along with.
Stephen King’sThe Long Walkhas been in Hollywood for several years now. In 2018,The Hollywood Reporterreported that New Line was adapting the novel with a script from James Vanderbilt, who co-wrotethe successful horror moviesScream (2022)andScream 6. Then, in November 2023,The Hollywood Reporterreported that Lionsgate was going to make the film adaptation ofThe Long Walk. According toThe Long Walk’s IMDb page, the film also includes Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Roman Griffin Davis. WhileThe Walking Deadfans will be interested in the story, horror fans will also enjoy seeing Judy Greer as sheplayed Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) daughter Karen Nelson in David Gordon Green’sHalloweentrilogy.
What Other Stephen King Stories Are Post-Apocalyptic?
Stephen King’s 1978 novelThe Standis set in a dystopian worldand got two adaptations: a movie in 1994 and aCBS miniseries that aired in 2020. The characters are living in a world with a deadly flu that everyone calls Captain Trips, and it’s one of his most well-known and popular books.
King was a fan ofThe Standminiseries and had only positive things to say about it when he spoke toEntertainment Weekly. He said:
“Obviously, they’ve updated it. So there are cell phones, for one thing, and the technology has changed and they’ve changed some of the story. But the characters are terrific. Everybody is really good. I don’t think anybody can top Gary Sinise as Stu Redmond. But Alexander Skarsgard is a good Randall Flagg, he just knocked it out of the park. It’s big, let’s put it that way.”
WhileUnder The Domeisn’t about the apocalypse, the 2009 novel and CBS TV series is about a world that is very different and also terrifying. The residents of Chester’s Mill are shocked to find that a strange dome has formed over their small town, and they try to figure out why it’s there and where it came from.
