By Warner Bros. Pictures is reportedly set to ditch theatrical release plans for its upcoming new adaptation of Stephen King’s early novel “Salem’s Lot” according to Variety.
Instead, the studio is sending it straight to Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform Max. The film was originally slated for a September 9th 2022 release before being delayed to April 2023, then Fall 2023, and then pulled altogether from the calendar.
There was speculation the Gary Dauberman-directed film could become a vaulted title tax write-off ala “Batgirl” last year, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
According to the trade, the move isn’t seen as a reflection of the film’s quality but rather to fill a content void over on Max that the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike has created. As “Salem’s Lot” has been effectively finished for a year, it could be turned into an event premiere launch.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson tells the outlet: “No decision has been made about the film’s future distribution plans.” To date, no promotional material from the film has been released.
Lewis Pullman stars as author Ben Mears, a man who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot only to find it is slowly being taken over by vampires. Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, William Sadler, Makenzie Leigh, John Benjamin Hickey, Pilou Asbæk, Jordan Preston Carter, and Spencer Treat Clark also star.
The well-regarded book has seen two previous adaptations in 1979 and 2004, both of which came in the form of mini-series and neither of which was that well received.
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