Long-Delayed Stephen King Movie Salem's Lot Will Finally Stream This Year
Stephen King fans, rejoice! The fate of the film adaptation of "Salem's Lot" has been up in the air over the past couple years, despite revealing footage from the project at CinemaCon back in 2022. Not even Stephen King himself knew what was going on with the film's potential release, though he wasn't shy about singing the praises of the movie from filmmaker Gary Dauberman, the director of "Annabelle Comes Home" and co-writer of "It" and sole writer of "It: Chapter Two." Thankfully, fans no longer have to ask when they'll be able to see the new "Salem's Lot" movie, because we finally have an idea of when it will be released. But it won't be in theaters.
Max has officially announced that "Salem's Lot" will debut on the streaming service sometime in 2024. They didn't give a specific release date or even a season of the release, but at least the Warner Bros. streaming service was willing to commit to putting the movie out at some point, something they haven't been so dedicated to in recent months (see the nonsense with axing "Coyote vs. ACME" entirely).
For those unfamiliar with "Salem's Lot," the movie is based on King's second novel published in 1975. It was previously turned into a miniseries (seen in the images above and below) by "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" director Tobe Hooper, and it ranks among one of the best miniseries adaptations of Stephen King's work, but it hasn't yet been given a proper film adaptation. The story follows author Ben Mears (played in this incarnation by "Top Gun: Maverick" co-star Lewis Pullman) as he returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem's Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire. That old chestnut!
The master wants you
When Warner Bros. Pictures debuted the first footage from the "Salem's Lot" movie at CinemaCon back in 2022, our own Ben Pearson was on the ground, and he thought it looked "scary as hell." That's why many have been so confused by Warner Bros. Pictures dragging their feet when it came to releasing the movie. That perplexing wait was only made more frustrating when Stephen King threw his support behind the movie late last year.
We're not sure when to expect an official first look at the movie to arrive for everyone else to see, but at least we know it's coming sometime this year. Perhaps it will make a fine release around Halloween, since that's when a lot of spooky things start hitting the multiplex and streaming services.
The rest of the "Salem's Lot" cast incudes Alfre Woodard as Dr. Cody, Makenzie Leigh as Susan Norton, Bill Camp as Matthew Burke, Spencer Treat Clark as Mike Ryerson, Pilou Asbæk as Straker, and John Benjamin Hickey as Father Callahan.
In addition to directing and writing, Gary Dauberman also executive produced the movie along with James Wan, Michael Clear, and Judson Scott for Atomic Monster and Roy Lee for Vertigo alongside Mark Wolper and Andrew Childs. Michael Bederman is also an executive producer on the project.
Stay tuned for whenever the first trailer for "Salem's Lot" drops online!