In addition to The Dark Tower and The Mist, it looks like one more Stephen King book is due for an adaptation — or, in this case, a second adaptation — as Firestarter will be the tale retold for the big screen.
While there are no details on a release date or casting news, the announcement of the adaptation was made at the Overlook Film Festival. Universal producer Akiva Goldsman will direct, while Scott Teems will be writing the script. Martha de Laurentiis, associate producer of the original film, will be the executive producer.
The original Firestarter film starred Drew Barrymore and was released in 1984. It followed Charlie, a young girl with pyrokinetic powers who was trying to avoid government capture. Firestarter received mixed reviews at the time of its release, with Roger Ebert calling it boring and only giving it two stars, going on to say that, “we don’t feel sorry for Barrymore because she’s never developed as a believable little girl — just a plot gimmick.”
Stephen King himself was not pleased with the film and has even referred to it as one of the worst adaptations of his books, saying “Firestarter is one of the worst of the bunch, even though in terms of story it’s very close to the original. But it’s flavorless; it’s like cafeteria mashed potatoes.”
A miniseries sequel of the film called Firestarter: Rekindled debuted on the SciFi Channel in 2002 to largely negative reviews. SciFi.com called it “an unsatisfying second chapter to the Stephen King novel.”
After two unsuccessful attempts, perhaps the third time’s the charm? With the oncoming wave of Stephen King adaptations, anything is possible!
Author
