The fire still burns for a beloved Stephen King work.
Universal Pictures is planning to start shooting this year on a long-awaited remake of one of the horror master’s earlier novels, Firestarter, according to MovieWeb.
Universal will team up with horror studio Blumhouse Productions to bring the story of a young girl with pyrokinetic powers to the big screen again.
This new movie, reported to begin shooting later this year, will be a remake of the 1984 film based on the 1980 King novel.
The remake will be helmed by director Keith Thomas and screenwriter Scott Teems. Regarding the movie, Teems told MovieWeb, “I’m still the writer. We just got a new director named Keith Thomas, who made a great film called ‘The Vigil’ out this year.
Teems added that Universal and Blumhouse are gung-ho about this new film. “it has always been an important project to them. I think we’re making active steps toward that happening this year.”
Teems acknowledged the industry’s shutdown due to the COVID-19 crisis, “but right now, I’m really hopeful that it might happen this year,” he added.
The original Firestarter film, which King reportedly was not thrilled with, was directed by Mark Lester and starred a young Drew Barrymore as Charlie, the girl with the uncanny ability to start horrific blazes.
The film–which also starred David Keith, Martin Sheen, George C. Scott and Heather Locklear–followed the travails of Charlie, who inherited her dangerous powers from her parents and who is pursued by a government agency called The Shop, that wants to use the young girl as a weapon.
That first film was successful enough to earn a sequel in the form of a 2002 TV miniseries, Firestarter: Rekindled.
There is no timetable for the release of the new Firestarter film, but Stephen King fans will be anxious to see this adaptation of the classic novel. So stay tuned to Horror News Network for all updates on the movie.
