Rev up those engines, because we’re about to see Stephen King’s other story about a malevolent car receive a movie treatment.
According to an exclusive from Deadline, Stephen King’s novel, From a Buick 8, was recently optioned by Hyde Park Entertainment. Founder of the production company, Ashok Amritraj, has given script-writing and directing duties to William Brent Bell, who previously worked on The Devil Inside and The Boy. Amritaj will produce the feature, while Addison Mehr and Priya Amritraj will serve as executive producers.
The story of King’s 2002 novel, From a Buick 8, takes place in the town of Statler, Pennsylvania, where state police have kept a mysterious Buick Roadmaster in a shed for over two decades. Strange events occur around the small town, and it’s discovered that the strange car has some unnerving secrets that border on the supernatural. The title of King’s novel comes from a Bob Dylan song, From a Buick 6 (great song if you’re a 60s folk-rock fan).
Interestingly enough, this is not the first attempt at adapting the novel for the big screen. Back in 2005, famed horror director George A. Romero was set to helm an adaptation of the story for Chesapeake Films, only to be replaced by Tobe Hooper in 2007. Unfortunately, the film was stalled due to financial issues that were plaguing the film industry at the time.
Since 2017’s It, Stephen King films have seen quite a resurgence. That year also saw movie adaptations of Gerald’s Game and 1922 on Netflix, and 2019 will see the release of a Pet Sematary remake and It: Chapter Two. Finally, King’s sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, will also see a film adaptation hit the screens in 2020. As of now, the release date for From a Buick 8 has yet to be announced.
