Audiences won't have to check under their bed while watching The Boogeyman from the comfort of home as the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's original short story has shifted to a theatrical release.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming horror film from Disney's 20th Century Studios has moved to a theatrical release following a surprisingly strong test screening in December. The film, which also received the approval of King himself, was initially planned as a streaming original for Hulu.
Based on the short story from King's 1978 horror anthology, Night Shift, The Boogeyman follows two young girls still grieving the loss of their mother who become targeted by a supernatural entity after their psychologist father has an encounter with a distressed patient in their house. There have been several short films based on The Boogeyman -- which was originally published in the March 1973 issue of the magazine Cavalier -- due to King's "Dollar Deal" setup, which allows filmmakers to adapt the author's work for $1. This is the first big-screen adaptation of The Boogeyman.
Directed by Rob Savage (Shudder's Host) from a script by Mark Heyman and A Quiet Place's Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, The Boogeyman stars Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, Vivien Lyra Blair, David Dastmalchian, Marin Ireland and Madison Hu. The film, which was shot in New Orleans in the winter of 2022, is produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen through their company 21 Laps. Beck and Woods are also attached as executive producers alongside Emily Morris.
More Stephen King Adaptations Are on the Way
The Boogeyman is just one of several Stephen King theatrical adaptations currently in the works. Others include Salem's Lot (also due out in 2023), a prequel to Pet Sematary, From a Buick 8 with King alum Thomas Jane, Blumhouse's Christine and The Running Man from Edgar Wright, among many others. On the television side, Stranger Things' The Duffer Brothers are currently developing an adaptation of King's The Talisman with Steven Spielberg and Netflix, while Mike Flannigan (who also adapted King's Gerald's Game and Doctor Sleep) is developing the author's Dark Tower series for Amazon Prime.
In December, Flanagan gave fans an idea of what they can expect from his Dark Tower series by describing his inspiration for the show's opening shot. "That first shot which comes right off at the first incredible sentence of the first book, The Gunslinger, I've had that image just rattling around in my head since I was an undergrad," he said. "It's going to have to get out of there eventually, I really need to get it out of my head."
In the meantime, King fans can look forward to seeing The Boogeyman when it creeps into theaters on June 2.
Source: THR