After an uncertain period of time, Warner Bros. Discovery will be bringing Salem’s Lot — a film adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 novel — to Max later this year. This follows a lengthy delay after the film was taken off its original September 2022 theatrical release schedule.
Directed and written by renowned horror scribe Gary Dauberman, the film will center on a writer’s journey back to his childhood home, which is — unbeknownst to him — ravaged by the presence of a gruesome vampire. His discovery leads him to team up with a group of people to fight against the ancient evil.
“Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire,” the logline reads.
The remake stars Lewis Pullman as Ben Mears, Alfre Woodard as Dr. Cody, Makenzie Leigh as Susan Norton, Bill Camp as Matthew Burke, Spencer Treat Clark as Mike Ryerson, Pilou Asbæk as Straker, and John Benjamin Hickey as Father Callahan.
Dauberman also executive produced the film alongside Michael Bederman, Andrew Childs, and Judson Scott. The producers are James Wan, Michael Clear, Roy Lee, and Mark Wolper.
Why was Salem’s Lot put on hold?
The film was originally scheduled to release in 2022, but was later moved to a 2023 release date after New Line and Warner Bros. merged with Discovery Inc., citing “covid-related delays in the post-production realm” as the reason.
The fate of Salem’s Lot was slowly deteriorating, considering Batgirl and Coyote vs Acme were also shelved after getting caught up in the merger.
Earlier this year, the book’s author on X (formerly Twitter) called out Warner Bros. for “holding” back the release of the Salem’s Lot movie adaptation.
“Between you and me, Twitter, I’ve seen the new [Salem’s Lot] and it’s quite good. Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why [Warner Bros.] is holding it back; not like it’s embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the f-cking things,” King wrote.
No specific release date has been given as of yet.
