The Most Brutal Stephen King Adaptation in Decades Just Became a Streaming Sensation

6 days ago 17

Just like Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman), Stephen King’s dystopian thriller The Long Walk refuses to give up and keeps pushing forward in the streaming space. The movie is still holding strong and continues to rank in the Top 10 on Amazon and Apple TV stores across several countries. It was also added to Starz as part of the streamer’s January lineup, which marked its exclusive streaming debut after its theatrical and digital release in late 2025. Shortly after its platform release, the film climbed to the top of the Starz charts and has remained at #1 for three consecutive days.

Set in the 1970s, the film centers on an annual televised event called The Long Walk. The premise echoes another King adaptation, The Running Man, which also arrived this year, but The Long Walk goes in a far darker direction. The story follows 50 young men who are selected each year to take part in an endless marathon. They must keep walking at a speed of at least three miles per hour, and anyone who falls below the speed is shot and killed after three warnings. The walk ends only when a single man remains, and the winner is granted any wish of his choosing, along with enough wealth to last a lifetime.

For years, the novel was considered unfilmable because it’s mostly just people walking and talking. But the movie does a phenomenal job of making those conversations feel endearing and genuinely intriguing. Without realizing it, the story slowly pulls you in and makes you care about these characters. That is why every death hits so much harder when it happens. The film also avoids the curse of weak King endings. In fact, it delivers one of the bleakest, soul-crushing endings in modern cinema, ranking right up there with The Mist and Se7en.

Despite Recent Cancellations, the Future of Stephen King Adaptations Looks Bright

2026 started on a rough note after the Duffer Brothers confirmed that their upcoming series, The Talisman, had been cancelled. And just recently, a CW project based on The Revelations of ‘Becka Paulson was also quietly shelved. Still, there is reason for optimism. Amazon MGM Studios is moving forward with two major projects led by Mike Flanagan. One is an eight-part limited series that reimagines Carrie and is expected to arrive in 2026. The other is a series based on The Dark Tower, built around King’s most ambitious story that links his entire fictional world together. That one will take more time, as Flanagan wants to secure the rights to all key characters before moving ahead. On top of that, A24 is also developing a 10-episode series based on King’s fantasy novel Fairy Tale.