James Vanderbilt Turning Stephen King’s The Long Walk Into A Movie

It's always nice that a young writer scores a little recognition from Hollywood, and sees one of their stories optioned. And then there's Stephen King, who could probably leave a post-it note around and a studio would try to turn it into a three-film franchise. The latest of his work to start the path to the screen is The Long Walk, which Truth writer-director James Vanderbilt is attached to adapt.

Warner Bros.' New Line arm, which has seen success with It has snapped up the rights to the 1979 book, written while King was still using his Richard Bachman pseudonym. It's set in a dystopian future America where the autocrat ruler has decreed that 100 teens a year must journey non-stop, under strict rules in a walking contest only one is left alive. Our focus is on Raymond Garraty and some of the other teens in the competition.

As opposed to leaping on the current King bandwagon, Vanderbilt and producer Bradley Fischer have been trying to get this to screens for more than a decade. Frank Darabont had the rights for years, with Vanderbilt writing drafts of the script on spec knowing he didn't have the rights. Once Darabont let his option lapse, he leapt on the rights and took them to New Line.

Vanderbilt, who also movies such as White House Down and The Amazing Spider-Man, has been producing more than writing of late, shepherding the likes of Slender Man and The House With A Clock In Its Walls to screens.