It’s as common for people to remake Stephen King films as it is for people to make Stephen King films in the first place. For every new adaptation of King’s story that we see out there, there’s at least one or two new twists on something that already happened. for everyone Chuck’s life, there is a new one fire starter Or carryfor everyone long walkthere is a new one salem’s lot Or pet Sematary.
Of course, there are also many Stephen King adaptations that have not yet been remade. Some should not be done. like the classics shashank redemption, stand by meOr Suffering Come to mind. Others have, and we still can’t believe it. We’ve seen many versions of this Shining Or tripod, For example, it is still temperamental. (And yes, we’re also considering some long-term TV adaptations here.)
But then, there is another category. Remakes that could or should happen. This week, one of them hits theaters. edgar wright’s running man An entirely new take on the original King novel, one that’s far more faithful than the iconic 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film. So, are there more people like this? We think so. Here are six other King movies we’d love to see remade.
max overdrive
We know. There are many, many Fans of this 1986 film directed by King starring Emilio Estevez are there. It’s kind of fun. This is strange. This is campy. But there’s also a version of this story – about technology being sentient and violent – that could be an entirely different movie. Maybe not a better movie, but a unique and more interesting movie. (Actually, there was a TV remake back in 1997, but honestly, we haven’t seen it.)
Thin
This 1996 film directed by Tom Holland (not him) is generally considered to suck. And yet, the story seems ready for a new turn. It’s about an obese lawyer who is cursed to lose weight, and in a world where weight loss drugs are becoming increasingly popular, don’t you think a more official and timely version could be made?
Mangler
Another Killer Machine movie, and in a world where we are increasingly beholden to technology, wouldn’t this one be affected differently now? Yes, legendary director Tobe Hooper made the 1995 version, which starred two icons like Robert Englund and Ted Levin, but even with that level of talent, it’s not that good. Let’s make a great movie about a fantastic industrial laundry machine.
dreamcatcher
If today, in 2025, you announced that Lawrence Kasdan was making a Stephen King movie starring Timothy Olyphant, Thomas Jane, Morgan Freeman, Donnie Wahlberg, and Tom Sizemore, you’d probably say, “How is that possible? Tom Sizemore is dead.” However, all jokes aside, the point is that this is one hell of a lineup. And yet this story about four friends who have similar mental abilities, with more aliens involved, was such a miss that we would have liked to see someone else take on it.
Langoliers
It’s kind of cheating because it’s one of the made-for-TV adaptations, but it didn’t take off. it Making a good movie, right? And LangoliersWhich is like a horror version of Stephen King. lostIt feels like there’s potentially something there if handled correctly. Maybe it could be exciting to take elements of this and really hone them rather than spread them out.
The Dark Tower
Construction The Dark Tower Working in the same film was never a good idea. Even with Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba in the lead roles, this is too epic a story to be told in one movie, even if you cut and pasted things around. We know this is already potentially being created by Stephen King whisperer Mike Flanagan, but it’s such a big job, we thought we’d put it on this list just to bring out the good mojo.
Do you think any other Stephen King films should be made? What do you think about those that should never be recreated? Feel free to discuss all this below.
And, if you’re a King fan, be sure to check out chuck’s life And long walkboth of which came out recently (and were not remakes), as well running manIn theaters now.
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