Stephen King Demanded ‘The Long Walk’ Show Teens Getting Shot: “A Pretty Brutal Movie”
Francis Lawrence's R-rated adaptation of Stephen King's novel features a brutal endurance contest with 100 teens, emphasizing psychological survival and realistic violence, rated for strong bloody content.
- The Long Walk, a dystopian horror thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Cooper Hoffman, premieres in the United States on September 12, 2025.
- The film adapts Stephen King's 1979 novel about 100 young men forced into an endurance contest where failure to keep pace results in execution by soldiers.
- Stephen King personally required the film to realistically depict teenagers being shot, criticizing bloodless violence in superhero movies as "almost, like, pornographic."
- JT Mollner, the screenwriter, said he preserved King's original themes and graphic elements, and Lionsgate screened the film's first 20 minutes at Comic-Con.
- The film's release, with an R rating for strong violence among other reasons, suggests a commitment to King's brutal vision and may impact audience expectations.
12 Articles
12 Articles


Stephen King made one ‘brutal’ demand for violent new film adaptation
‘The Long Walk’ follows a group of teenagers forced to participate in a savage life or death contest
Stephen King Demanded ‘The Long Walk’ Show Teens Getting Shot: “A Pretty Brutal Movie”
As The Long Walk makes the trek from the page to the screen, Stephen King recently revealed the one condition he had for adapting his 1979 novel. The author explained that the characters in the book are “the same sort of kids that are pulled into the war machine” of Vietnam, noting that he required […]
Stephen King’s ‘The Long Walk’ Adaptation Stuns Critics with Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score
Stephen King fans have something to look forward to this year. The Long Walk, a new dystopian horror thriller, is set to hit theaters on September 12. The movie is directed by Francis Lawrence, co-produced by him as well, and written by JT Mollner. It is based on King’s 1979 novel, published under his Richard... The post Stephen King’s ‘The Long Walk’ Adaptation Stuns Critics with Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score appeared first on Comic Basics.
Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence has shot with his Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk – Death March much more than just a tougher version of The Tributes of Panem.
Stephen King Demanded THE LONG WALK Show Teens Getting Shot: “If You’re Not Going to Show It, Don’t Bother” — GeekTyrant
As you know, Stephen King doesn’t pull punches in the stories he tells, and he wasn’t about to let Hollywood water down The Long Walk. As the dystopian novel heads to the big screen, King revealed the one rule he had for the adaptation: the brutal violence had to stay intact.The author told The Times of London that the teens in his 1979 novel were meant to reflect the kids “pulled into the war machine” of Vietnam, which made it essential for the…
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