Director Tapped For Adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk

Another Stephen King film is set to be made in The Long Walk, and André Øvredalo will be behind the camera. Deadline reports that Øvredalo (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) will direct the film, which is based on the 1979 novella of the same name written under King’s Richard Bachman pseudonym.

The Long Walk is set in a dystopian future and centers on a sadistic marathon between 100 boys. The young men have to keep their speed above four miles an hour and if they fall short more than three times in an hour, they’re killed. The last person still alive gets whatever he wants for the rest of his life.

The Long Walk became popular when King acknowledged Bachman as his pseudonym. It was published along with “The Rage,” “The Running Man” and “Roadwork” as The Bachman Books. The Running Man, of course, spawned its own highly successful film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987. Bizzarely, The Long Walk has inspired a real-life annual walking event in Sweden, but without the murder and with accomodations for support like food, medicine and bathroom breaks.