Stephen King has been called the “King of Horror,” but reducing his work to just scares undersells the scope of his imagination. King’s novels are cinematic blueprints poached with vivid characters, eerie atmosphere, and plots that practically beg to be projected on the big screen. For decades, filmmakers have mined his stories and turned them into some of the most timeless pieces of art.
Think of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining; whether you love or loathe its deviation from the novel, it’s etched into pop culture and is endlessly quoted and referenced. Or consider The Shawshank Redemption, adapted from King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.” It’s not a horror tale, but a jarring human story of hope that continues to top “greatest films of all time” lists.
And yet, for every It and Misery that’s made its way to theaters, there are dozens of King stories still waiting for their moment to shine. Some of his works have been optioned but never produced, others remain untouched, and many deserve the kind of adaptation that could elevate them into classics. Here are six great Stephen King stories that haven’t yet been adapted into movies, but absolutely should be.
“The Langoliers”
“The Langoliers” is King’s chilling sci-fi thriller with a plot that goes as follows: on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, 10 passengers wake up and find the rest of the plane’s occupants, including crew, have vanished without explanation. Among them are Brian Engle, an off-duty pilot; Dinah Bellman, a blind girl with psychic sensitivity; and Nick Hopewell, a British intelligence officer. As they land in Bangor, Maine, the group discovers a world that’s drained of life. Food tastes stale, air feels thin, and sound is muted.
The looming threat comes in the form of the Langoliers, monstrous creatures that devour the remains of yesterday and erase it from existence. In the story, time itself is the antagonist, and survival hinges on understanding the mechanics of reality before it collapses altogether.
The Langoliers would thrive as a modern thriller, complete with a surreal landscape and a sense of dread. The empty airport, the strange stillness of the world, and the terrifying reveal of the Langoliers themselves are moments that would benefit from atmospheric direction and cutting-edge effects. Fans have long debated the 1995 miniseries, which struggled with dated CGI and is rightfully forgotten, but a fresh big-screen adaptation could stand alongside Mist as one of King’s most visually mesmerizing pieces.
‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’
Stephen King’s 1999 novel follows nine-year-old Trisha McFarland, who wanders off a hiking trail in the Maine woods and becomes hopelessly lost. With only a Walkman tuned to Boston Red Sox games and her devotion to star pitcher Tom Gordon to keep her company, Trisha battles hunger, exposure, and the feeling of isolation. Her journey is as much physical as it is psychological, with hallucinations blurring the line between what’s real and what’s not.
The novel is very simple; there’s no sprawling cast or supernatural horror, just a child’s raw fight for survival against nature and her own fears. It is an intimate thriller ripe with emotional honesty. When treated as a movie, its minimalist setup and relentless suspense would balance each other well. Also, with an incredible young actress playing the role, the visual contrast of Trisha’s small figure against the vast, indifferent forest would be striking, while her imagined conversations with Tom Gordon could add a mix of humor and heart.
The novel was well-received for its psychological depth and remains a fan favorite for its symbolism. It drew interest from George A. Romero before he passed away, with his wife, Chris Romer,o still attached to an adaptation, and in 2025, Strange Darling filmmaker JT Mollner became attached to write and direct.
‘Joyland’
Set in 1973, Joyland follows college student Devin Jones, who takes a summer job at an old-fashioned North Carolina amusement park to mend a broken heart. The seasonal gig quickly spirals into something far more haunting when he learns of the park’s dark legend about how a young woman was murdered in the Horror House ride years earlier, and her ghost is said to linger there. As Devin immerses himself in the carnival’s culture, he befriends Annie Ross and her terminally ill son, Mike, whose psychic abilities connect him to the park’s mysteries.
Joyland combines coming-of-age tenderness with a murder mystery, creating a story that’s equal parts nostalgic and unsettling. A film adaptation could deliver the faded charm of a 1970s amusement park using neon lights and creaky rides. The ghostly moments inside the Horror House ride would be visually chilling. The novel earned a nomination for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 2014, and on screen, the climactic confrontation with the killer would make for a finale that balances both horror and humanity.
‘From a Buick 8’
Published in 2002, From a Buick 8 tells the story of a mysterious car housed at a Pennsylvania state police barracks. The Buick Roadmaster, discovered abandoned decades ago, is not really a car, though – it is a gateway to another dimension. The car never runs, yet its engine emits strange lights, and over the years, it has disgorged bizarre creatures and swallowed people whole.
The story is told through the perspective of Troop D officers, who recount its history to Ned Wilcox, the son of a recently deceased trooper. Ned grapples with the grief by obsessing over the Buick. It’s a slow-burning book where the car is less a machine and more a reminder of how we’re still incapable of fully comprehending the unknown.
Romero, Tobe Hooper, William Brent Bell, James Wan, and Jim Mickle were all attached to adaptations of From a Buick 8 at different points, but it has yet to come to fruition. Visually, the setting would ground the story in everyday realism. But the Buick itself offers insane cinematic potential. A car glowing with otherworldly light, producing grotesque creatures, and serving as a portal to something terrifyingly vast.
‘Duma Key’
King’s Duma Key is a psychological horror novel set against the backdrop of Florida’s Gulf Coast. It follows Edgar Freemantle, a wealthy contractor from Minnesota, who suffers a catastrophic construction accident that costs him his right arm and leaves him with cognitive damage, violent mood swings, and a fractured marriage. Seeking recovery, Edgar moves to the remote island of Duma Key, where he discovers a talent for painting.
His art, however, is not just therapeutic. It channels supernatural forces tied to the island’s history. Edgar befriends Elizabeth Eastlake, an elderly woman with her own connection to Duma’s mysteries, and learns that his paintings can alter reality. The novel’s strength lies in its fusion of trauma, creativity, and the uncanny. A film adaptation could thrive on its contrasts. Plus, the visual potential is immense. Despite being lesser known, the book was a bestseller and praised for its suspense and depth.
‘Insomnia’
Published in 1994, Insomnia is one of King’s most ambitious works. The novel centers on Ralph Roberts, a widower in his seventies living in Derry, Maine, who begins suffering from relentless insomnia after his wife’s death. As his sleep deprivation gets worse, Ralph starts to perceive strange auras around people and witnesses bizarre “little bald doctors” who manipulate life and death. His visions draw him into a conflict between the Purpose, which seeks order, and the Random, which thrives on chaos.
To add, Ralph’s neighbor, Ed Deepneau, grows dangerously unstable, and Ralph is forced to intervene to prevent a catastrophic act of violence. The book is strongly connected to King’s Dark Tower universe thematically, as it blends themes of grief with small-town drama. On screen, Insomnia could deliver a mix of character drama and metaphysical spectacle. Ralph’s gradual descent into sleepless visions, auras glowing around townsfolk, and the escalating tension as Ed spirals into madness, all offer striking potential. Key moments, such as Ralph’s confrontation with Ed and the revelation of the doctors’ true role in the balance of existence, would also make for unforgettable sequences.
Got a favorite King book that deserves a big-screen adaptation? Let’s hear it in the comments!
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
