When a filmmaker takes on a Stephen King adaptation and it turns out to be a success, it's common for said filmmaker to take another dip in the well. From Frank Darabont, to Mike Flanagan, to George A. Romero, to Rob Reiner, it's really a tremendous legacy. Now, following the theatrical release of The Boogeyman, director Rob Savage has made it known that he would like to become a part of that special history by making a big screen version of The Langoliers.
In a new episode of the ReelBlend podcast, Savage digs into the work that he did on The Boogeyman (including the special way the film ties back to his previous two features), but also discusses his potential future with the works of Stephen King. Asked if there is another story that he would like to adapt, the director explained that he not only had an idea, but that he's already talked about it with the author:
There’s a short story that I’d love to do, and I’ve even messaged King about this, and he seems excited by the idea; I don’t know if we’re going to be able to pull the rights together or make it happen, but it’s The Langoliers. I think that it’s such a great setup, there’s so many great characters, and moments.
The novella "The Langoliers" was first published in 1990 as one of the stories collected in the omnibus Four Past Midnight (along with "Secret Window, Secret Garden," "The Library Policeman, and "The Sun Dog.") It follows a group of characters who fall asleep on a cross-country flight from Los Angeles to Boston and wake up to discover that the majority of other people aboard the plane have disappeared. One of the protagonists is a pilot who is able to safely fly into Bangor International Airport, and he along with the others try to solve the mystery of what happened to them.
The strange sci-fi/horror tale was previously adapted by director Tom Holland as a miniseries in 1995 featuring a stellar cast including David Morse, Patricia Wettig, Dean Stockwell, Mark Lindsay Chapman, Frankie Faison, and Bronson Pinchot. While Morse has said that there was "unhealthiness" on the set, and the visual effects employed look awful, it's mostly a fun watch because it stays faithful to the source material.
For his vision of The Langoliers, Rob Savage says that Stephen King fans will have to put their memories of the miniseries aside, as he has a "a really cool" take that he thinks will freak people out. Said the director,
I think you have to slightly distance yourself from the TV movie. As fun as it is, there’s a definitive version of that that could be really scary, and I think I have a really cool take on it as well. But I remember that was one of the stories that really kind of lit my mind on fire as a kid when I read it… That would be my number one.
As noted by Rob Savage, one important thing that stands in his way from executing his vision of The Langoliers is getting the rights to the story. A few years ago, Stephen King worked to reclaim a number of his classic books, but "The Langoliers" was not a part of that effort. The miniseries was made by ABC, but Savage doesn't mention who is now holding onto the novella.
Getting into the process, the filmmaker explained,
A lot of it is rights. Most of Stephen King’s stories are kind of tied up elsewhere or they’re in active development or they’re in inactive development… But the will to do it is there, so hopefully if [The Boogeyman] doesn’t bomb, there will be some movement there.
One thing working to Rob Savage's advantage is the fact that The Boogeyman has not bombed. The film earned positive reviews in the weeks leading up to its theatrical release this past Friday, and it earned $12.4 million – good enough for third place behind Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse and The Little Mermaid. The studio is likely now feeing justified pivoting the film from streaming distribution to theatrical (with Stephen King himself nudging things in that direction), and hopefully Savage can take his earned clout and use it to make his version of The Langoliers.
We'll keep you updated here on CinemaBlend for more updates about this potential project, and hopefully it won't be too long before it becomes a section in our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide. For now, The Boogeyman is playing in theaters nationwide, and you can learn about the full history of King stories going from page to screen with my Adapting Stephen King column.
