It seems like there is more Stephen King adaptation news than ever before right now. The television miniseries Under the Dome is starting up soon, 11/22/63 is apparently headed to TV under J.J. Abrams’ watch, and movie adaptations of Gramma, The Good Marriage, and The Ten O’Clock People, there is a lot coming for King fans. Now, you can add another title to the list as his next novel is already optioned and Tate Taylor will direct the Joyland adaptation.
For those who don’t know what Joyland is, the book is King’s addition to the Hard Case Crime series. That book label sought out various authors to write their versions of classic hardboiled crime novels. King did one for them a few years back called The Colorado Kid, which influenced the Sy-Fy Channel show Haven.
Other big name authors to write for the Hard Case Crime label include Lawrence Block, Donald E. Westlake, Ed McBain and Donald Hamilton, some more than once, and now King returns with his second offering. In Joyland, a college student moonlights as a carnival worker. There, he confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will forever change his life.
For King’s fans, the book will go on sale June 4, but only be available in paperback. An eBook will be offered later, but not up front.
The choice of Tate Taylor is an interesting one. His breakout movie was The Help and he is also working on a James Brown biopic. A Stephen King story that promises a mix of hardboiled action with some horror notes mixed in will be unlike anything Taylor has ever done. There is no expected date for the Joyland adaptation, but King’s contracts for feature movies usually includes a ticking clock, so Taylor has little time to figure this script out.
Source: Deadline
