According to Deadline, The White Lotus star Theo James has been tapped for the upcoming Stephen King adaptation, The Monkey. The project hails from The Conjuring Universe creator James Wan, who will produce through his Atomic Monster banner.
“Stephen King is the godfather of the horror genre. He had a huge influence on me as a child and throughout my career, and it’s always been a dream to help bring one of his stories to life,” Wan said in a statement. “The Monkey is a personal favorite, with its simple, iconic and incredibly marketable conceit. And I can’t imagine anyone better than a visionary and lifelong genre fan like Osgood to bring this to life.”
This marks the second Stephen King adaptation news in a week. Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill have signed on to star in Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, based on another short story by King.
Who’s Involved in The Monkey?
The Monkey movie will be written and directed by actor-filmmaker Osgood Perkins. Perkins is best known for his work on horror movies like The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Gretel & Hansel. The story centers around twin brothers whose lives change after discovering a mysterious cymbal-banging monkey toy. Casting is still underway for the project.
“When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them,” reads the synopsis. “The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.”
The Monkey is executive produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fred Berger, Chris Ferguson, Peter Luo, Nancy Xu, and John Friedberg. It hails from Atomic Monster, Stars Collective, and Black Bear International, with C2 Motion Picture Group financing the project.
