‘The Long Walk’: What to Know About the Newest Stephen King Adaptation

One of Stephen King‘s perceivedly most “unfilmable” stories is finally getting the screen treatment next month. The Long Walk, which the horror maestro first released back in 1979, is being adapted for the big screen and will hit theaters in September.

The Long Walk was one of King’s releases under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and is beloved by millions. It is also a precursor to fellow dystopian survival stories centered on children like Battle and The Hunger Games (King himself once even said as much in his Entertainment Weekly review of the latter).

So, before the film arrives, what should fans know about The Long Walk movie? Here’s the rundown.

When will The Long Walk hit theaters?

The film is scheduled to be released on September 12.

What is The Long Walk about?

The story takes place in a dystopian version of America in which the country is ruled by a totalitarian regime that sponsors an annual contest for 100 children to walk until just one remains alive and thus becomes the winner of a cash prize. Those children who cannot maintain the required speed — a brisk 4 m.p.h. — are warned a set number of times before being executed by the soldiers accompanying them. There are no breaks for sleep.

Who stars in The Long Walk?

Leading the cast of the film adaptation is Cooper Hoffman as Raymond Garraty, the central character of the story, who enters the contest and befriends his fellow walkers. David Jonsson stars as Peter McVries, Ray’s closest friend among the other kids. Mark Hamill also stars as the Major, who oversees the contest and delivers orders of execution. Garrett Wareing also stars as Stebbins, son of the Major and fellow contestant who talks in riddles, and Joshua Odjick appears as Collie Parker, a tough guy with a penchant for profanity. Also starring in the film are Tut Nyuot as Arthur Baker, Charlie Plummer as Gary Barkovitch, Ben Wang as Hank Olson, Roman Griffin Davis as Thomas Curley, Jordan Gonzalez as Richard Harkness, Judy Greer as Ms. Garraty, and Josh Hamilton as Mr. Garraty.

The film is directed by Francis Lawrence, who, among other projects, helmed most of The Hunger Games movies (namely, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and, next, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping).

What else is there to know about The Long Walk movie?

The movie adaptation has been in the works for a very long time. The first effort to bring the story to screen came in the 1987 when horror legend George A. Romero got the rights to adapt the story (but never did).

Frank Darabont (who has so far adapted three King stories with The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist) also snapped up the rights in 2007 and predicted the resulting movie would be “more ragged and loose documentary kind of feel.”

As for the more contemporary effort, the rights were acquired by New Line Cinema in 2018, and the studio picked James Vanderbilt to write and direct before switching to André Øvredal in 2019. The rights moved to Lionsgate in 2023, and Lawrence was announced as director.

The Long Walk, September 12, theaters