James Wan is attached via his Atomic Monster label to produce a new Stephen King adaptation. Specifically, the adaptation will be a feature film based on Stephen King’s short story The Monkey.
Fans of King will remember The Monkey for having been included in his 1985 short story collection Skeleton Crew. In fact, the monkey toy from the story happens to be on the cover of the book. As such, it’s fitting to see it finally get its due after all these years.
Furthermore, as also shared via Deadline, Osgood Perkins is set to direct the movie. His previous directing credits include The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel. He also wrote the screenplay for the film based on King’s original short story. The film will star Theo James as the lead.
Here’s the basis for the film’s plot:
“In The Monkey, when twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths starts occurring all around them. The brothers decide to throw the monkey away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years. But when the mysterious deaths begin again, the brothers must reunite to find a way to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.”
James Wan shared the following statement about his excitement for the project:
“Stephen King is the godfather of the horror genre. He had a huge influence on me as a child and throughout my career, and it’s always been a dream to help bring one of his stories to life. The Monkey is a personal favorite, with its simple, iconic and incredibly marketable conceit. And I can’t imagine anyone better than a visionary and lifelong genre fan like Osgood to bring this to life.”
Fans can stay tuned to ScreenGeek for additional updates on The Monkey and other horror projects as we have them.