Writer and producer Akiva Goldsman shared details about the upcoming film remake of Stephen King's Firestarter -- discussing what sets it apart from the original film adaptation.
"Firestarter is one of the last great, either unmade or un-remade, Stephen King novels that have become classics," Goldsman told THR. "There are things I will never forget from the original movie." He added, however, that the 1984 film adaptation, starring a young Drew Barrymore, "diverged from the book significantly."
"So Scott Teems -- who is a really wonderful writer -- wrote this terrific script which is much closer to the novel in both incident and tone," he added. "We start shooting, I want to say, in 12 weeks." He stated that Firestarter was among King's "most intimate" horror, adding, "Pyrokinesis is a really fascinating idea when it comes to the expression of hidden feelings."
Goldsman's comments came two months after Firestarter director Keith Thomas shared that the remake is "getting into some things that the original film didn't." Thomas added, "There's a lot of stuff to explore in it that that King obviously is hinting at throughout the book that I don't see as much in the original film that I think we can really dive into."
While Goldsman originally signed on to direct the Firestarter remake, it was announced in June 2018 that German director Fatih Akin would be taking over directing duties and Teems would step in to write the script. It was also confirmed at that time that Goldsman would remain on the project as a producer, alongside Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions.
In 2019, The Vigil director Thomas ultimately replaced Akin as director for the upcoming film. In late 2020, it was also announced that Zac Efron had been cast in a leading role. The upcoming remake will also feature executive producer Martha De Laurentiis, who served as an associate producer on the original Firestarter film.
Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, Firestarter follows a girl who develops pyrokinetic abilities and is kidnapped by the government so that she can be transformed into a weapon. Firestarter has yet to receive an official release date.
Source: THR