Warner Bros is still going back and forth with its troubled remake of Stephen King’s popular vampire tale, Salem’s Lot.
Back in July of this year, we noted that we’ve never really seen a true cinematic take on Salem’s Lot, the 1975 novel that saw Stephen King take on the vampire horror subgenre. There was a made-for-TV movie and a TV miniseries, but not anything made specifically for the big screen. The upcoming adaptation of King’s story directed by Gary Dauberman (who wrote Annabelle and IT) looked set to change that.
Unfortunately, this no longer seems to be the case, with Variety reporting that the film will be skipping cinemas and heading straight to Warner Bros’ streaming platform, MAX – in the US at least. Warner Bros has yet to confirm the news, but Variety writes that the ongoing actors’ strike has created a programming shortage that needs to be filled, meaning that Salem’s Lot is one of several projects (the others remain unnamed) that will be heading straight to the small screen.
Like the vampires it centres on, the film has seemed more than a little cursed throughout its production. Following previous setbacks, it was set to release in September of last year before Covid-related issues caused a seven month delay into spring of this year. Then it was removed from Warner Bros’ schedule altogether, sparking whispers that it might meet the same fate as Batgirl, which was of course deleted by Warner Bros as a tax write-off.
Now, it looks like the film is finally going to see the light of day, but not in cinemas. Top Gun: Maverick's Lewis Pullman stars, whilst Pilou Asbæk, who played a memorable turn as the pirate rogue Euron Greyjoy in Game Of Thrones, has landed the plum role in the upcoming film. Asbæk will play Richard Straker, the vampire who serves as the chief antagonist for a large part of the story. The actor joins Alfre Woodard, Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp and Spencer Treat Clark to round out the ensemble.
With Warner Bros having now missed the spooky season, we’re not sure when this one will finally come out – but rest assured, we’ll let you know when we hear more.
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