The new Salem’s Lot movie finished filming at the end of 2021: but there remains no sign of a release. More here.
If you’re keeping score, then it’s currently two films that Warner Bros has made in the last few years, that it’s elected to deleted and take the tax write-off. The fate of a third is surely about to be determined too. And now there’s a fourth film that seems stuck in limbo as well.
The movie is a fresh big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Salem’s Lot, that was originally going to be released in the spring of 2022. Filming wrapped up at the end of 2021, and it’s suffered a few release date bumps since then.
Gary Dauberman – who last directed Annabelle Comes Home – has seemingly completed his cut of the movie, and it’s a case of Warner Bros deciding what to do with it. It’s had a couple of theatrical release dates so far, and there were rumours that it might go straight to Warner Bros’ Max streaming service.
The website JoBlo has gone digging into the current state of things here, and it’s a good summation of an odd situation. As many have noted, it’s not as if word on test screenings has been bad. In fact, Stephen King too has seen the film and given it a positive endorsement.
The Warner Bros remake of SALEM'S LOT, currently shelved, is muscular and involving. It has the feel of "Old Hollywood," when a film was given a chance to draw a breath before getting to business. When attention spans were longer, in other words.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 1, 2023
The unsaid fear of course is that Warner Bros might repeat its trick and go for the tax write off instead, although that seems – surely – unlikely here. A relatively modestly-priced horror film, with the name of Stephen King behind it? A genre that performs profitably with some regularity at the box office?
The problem though is the longer the film sits on the shelf, the more the fears of Salem’s Lot disappearing grow. Hopefully, an update – and some good news – can’t be far away…
