Things are definitely heating up for Firestarter.
The remake of the 1984 adaptation of Stephen King’s classic 1980 novel wrapped production last summer, and this week, the film was tagged with an R rating–specifically for “violent content”–according to filmratings.com.
The Blumhouse Productions and Universal Studios film–directed by Keith Thomas from a screenplay by Scott Teems–will delve into the story of a young girl with pyrokinetic abilities (making things burst into flames), who is being pursued by a secret government agency bent on using those powers as a weapon.
Firestarter stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong as that young girl, Charlie McGee, along with Zac Efron (as her father Andy), Sydney Lemmon (as her mother Vicky), Michael Greyeyes (as master assassin Rainbird) and Gloria Reuben in an unspecified role.
Thomas said this reboot will include elements in King’s bestseller that did not appear in the first movie. “There’s a lot of stuff in the book that isn’t in the original film,” he said. “There’s stuff in there that we’re using.”
The director added that, in this film, “you’re going to see all the stuff Charlie can do–which is cool and exciting. And if we do it right, you should come out of it emotional.”
The original Firestarter film–directed by Mark Lester from a screenplay by Stanley Mann–stars Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Martin Sheen and George C. Scott. The movie was not a big hit with critics or King’s Constant Readers, and managed just $19 million at the box office on a $12-million budget.
A release date for the reboot has not been announced, so keep reading Horror News Network for further updates on Firestarter.
