Adaptations of author
Stephen King's films have
often been a success at the box office, with so much time having passed since some of his more iconic adaptations allowing new filmmakers to put their own spin on the subject matter, as director Keith Thomas recently shared his excitement about his new take on King's
Firestarter. Rather than being a remake of the previous film, the upcoming project merely marks a new take on the source material, with Thomas claiming that he was looking forward to doing something "new" with the story, while also promising that fans will see all the telekinetic mayhem they would expect from the endeavor.
"It’s a new adaptation of the book," Thomas shared with
Zavvi. "When [producer] Jason [Blum] pitched it to me it was exciting, as that’s one of my favorite Stephen King novels, and whilst I really like the 1980s film, I felt we could do something new. The screenplay is by Scott Teems who wrote the upcoming Halloween Kills, it’s an amazing script. It has everything you would want; people’s heads catching fire and their faces melting off, and a dad and daughter on the run trying to survive being chased in this heightened tense experience. We are hoping to film it this year,
and it will be a lot of fun."
While King himself typically keeps his distance from adaptations of his work, Thomas confirmed, "He watched The Vigil, approved me as director, and he read the script from the early stages, and he’s very happy with it. He’s excited for it, he’s there the whole way."