All 9 Upcoming Stephen King Movies & TV Shows

With over 70 published books and the nickname “the king of horror,” Stephen King is arguably the most influential horror writer of the past 100 years. His books made waves when they were first published, and continue to inspire writers and filmmakers today, with Stranger Things being heavily inspired by Stephen King‘s work. Still, not all adaptations of the author’s work are created equal, with several Stephen King TV adaptations failing to hit the mark, while others have become icons in several genres, from the harrowing supernatural prison drama The Green Mile to Jack Nicholson’s disturbing The Shining.

Many of Stephen King’s best sci-fi, horror, and fantasy stories have not yet been done justice, even after having an onscreen version, and so it is not surprising that there are several adaptations and remakes currently in the works. Plenty of Stephen King’s books have still not been adapted, so there is plenty of inspiration for creators, and some of the upcoming projects look extremely exciting both for casual readers and Stephen King superfans.

Carrie

Of all Stephen King’s upcoming adaptations, Carrie might have the most to live up to. Sissy Spacek’s iconic portrayal of the blood-drenched prom queen has remained nightmare fuel since the 1970s, and while Carrie has been adapted several times more, none of the subsequent movies have captured the raw anger and betrayal of the original. However, Carrie has not yet been adapted as a TV series, and Mike Flanagan could be the director for the job.

King and Flanagan have collaborated many times before, with projects including the disturbing Gerald’s Game, which was previously considered “unfilmable.” This is extremely important to consider, with Flanagan’s Carrie making some major changes from Stephen King’s book. The fact that King is working as executive producer is an optimistic sign, encouraging viewers to share his trust in Flanagan, who is updating the story for a modern audience. Carrie is expected to premiere in October 2026.

Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream

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The subject of the novella, Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream has never been more timely, yet it is one of Stephen King’s excellent stories that has not had an adaptation yet. The story follows a school caretaker who has a psychic vision of a murdered woman buried near an abandoned gas station, but when he reports the crime, he is suspected of the murder.

The story deals with false accusations and police corruption, and many have felt that it would make a great miniseries, including King himself, who picked James Ashcroft (The Whisper Man) as a director. Ashcroft has experience turning short stories into movies so, rather than a series, Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream is set to become a movie instead, though there has been no update since 2025.

Mister Yummy

The movie adaptation of Stephen King’s Mister Yummy has recently had an update, with director Ben Young (Extinction, Devil’s Peak) being involved as the director. With Young already being a fan of the author’s work and experienced in writing character-driven and often disturbing stories, he is likely to be a good choice. Few details are currently known about the direction the movie will take, but it is certain to need talented character actors who can convey the horror and heartbreak of the subject.

Rather than being obviously supernatural, the story leaves a lot open to interpretation. The elderly Ollie Franklin is having visions of a man he was attracted to in his youth, while he reminisces about the horrors of growing up as a gay man in America in the midst of the 1980s AIDS crisis, losing friends to the mysterious and deadly illness. His vision, Mr Yummy, might be the product of a failing mind, or he might be a version of Death waiting.

The Institute

If season 1 of The Institute wasn’t scary enough, the series has much more in store, with one actor promising that The Institute season 2 will be “torture” for its characters. Many of Stephen King’s novels involve secret government facilities and experiments, with Firestarter and The Tommyknockers‘ secret facility inspiring the one in Stranger Things where Eleven is held.

The Institute follows abducted children with various gifts like telepathy and telekinesis, who are being held captive in the sinister facility as the subjects of experiments. The first season tells the same story as King’s book, and The Institute ends season 1 with major character deaths. This means that the upcoming second season, which is due to be released later in 2026, will tell an original story written for TV.

The Mist

The 2007 movie The Mist was a modest success, with Rotten Tomatoes critics giving it a 74% positive rating, but it is mostly known for one factor that overshadows the rest of the movie. The Mist has one of the most disturbing sci-fi movie endings of all time, and this is the most memorable factor, despite being well-acted, with terrifying creatures that are just as unsettling when they appear onscreen as they are when enveloped within the titular mist.

The TV series was nowhere near as well-received, with a 58% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and some reviewers deeming it one of the worst Stephen King adaptations made. Mike Flanagan, also responsible for the upcoming Carrie TV series, is reportedly giving it an even more Lovecraftian take that will make up for The Mist‘s failure. This may not be one of the most requested Stephen King adaptations, but Flanagan has proven that he can reinterpret even King’s most well-known stories, so his movie may just beat the original.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon

Many of Stephen King’s best non-horror books still contain terrifying moments while exploring the human psyche. Gerald’s Game, in which a woman is trapped beneath her dead husband, alone with her thoughts, is one. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is another, centering on a young girl lost in the woodland, facing the likelihood of death, and also being stalked. Hallucinating monsters, people, and her idol, the baseball player Tom Gordon, the story is a rare Stephen King book with a genuinely happy ending.

The zombie movie pioneer George A. Romero was set to work on an adaptation, but the project appeared to hit development hell. Last year, JT Mollner (Outlaws and Angels) was brought on to direct a new adaptation, which will be the first time the survival thriller has been adapted for the screen. Mollner is no stranger to King’s work, having written the screenplay for The Long Walk.

IT: Welcome To Derry

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Pennywise the dancing clown is one of the most terrifying horror TV monsters of all time, sparking clown phobias to this day. While Tim Curry’s portrayal was iconic, Bill Skarsgård put his own spin on the character in the IT movies, which in turn sparked the TV revival IT: Welcome to Derry. The show gives a deeper look into Pennywise’s lore, being set 27 years before IT: Chapter One.

With the monster known as Pennywise re-emerging every 27 years, IT: Welcome to Derry already set up seasons 2 and 3. The first season was set in the 1960s, with the next seasons going back in time to the 1930s and 1908. This ensures that each season will have a new cast of characters who deal with the shapeshifting threat in ways that viewers may not expect. Time will tell if this strategy continues to pay off, with the show’s next season thought to premiere in 2027.

The Stand

Robert Falconoer/CBS

Stephen King’s most ambitious novel yet is The Walking Dead meets Lord of the Rings, with characters in a virus-ravaged world beginning a quest to confront an ancient evil. The Stand takes themes from classic fantasy and applies them to America, with the two surviving factions being based in Boulder, Colorado and Las Vegas. The source material is an epic tale that the two screen adaptations have not yet managed to do justice to, but this is the first time that a movie version of The Stand has been attempted.

Turning an 800-page novel into a movie is a daunting task, but Deadline has reported that Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) is going to be turning The Stand into a movie for Paramount. The project is currently in the early stages of development, so it remains to be seen whether the movie will be made or hit development hell like other attempts to adapt the novel, but it is still exciting news for fans.

Cujo

Stephen King’s ability to make a beloved character into a monster is one of the reasons he deserves his “king of horror” title. That said, the concept hits different when the villain is a beloved family pet unable to control himself. Cujo is about a friendly and lovable St. Bernard dog, who contracts rabies and goes on the rampage, trapping two of his family members in their car.

The ending is arguably one of the most disturbing in any of King’s books, and the inevitable fate of the tragic Cujo makes the story an unlikely candidate for adaptation. However, Netflix announced in 2025 that they were developing a remake of the 1983 movie, with Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For a Dream) in talks to direct. As Aronofsky is no stranger to surreal and disturbing concepts, the movie looks certain to capture the spirit of the original novel.

Other Stephen King Projects Potentially In The Works

©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

It may surprise viewers to learn that Stephen King’s box office record is not very strong, and while adaptations of his work appear to be in development at any given time, others have hit development hell. TV series were reportedly being made based on The Jaunt and Overlook, and movie adaptations of Christine and Elevation, but 2021 seems to be a “dead zone” for King adaptations, as there has been little in the way of news since then.

2022 fares little better, as the Later TV show and The Regulators movie have also appeared to stall here. Even the much-anticipated Billy Summers and The Dark Tower have gone quiet, although many projects in development hell have eventually been made, so hope is not entirely lost. The lack of progress may be disappointing, but in the meantime, there are more Stephen King adaptations closer to being released in the near future.

Source: Deadline

Birthdate

September 21, 1947

Birthplace

Portland, Maine, USA

Height

6 feet 4 inches