Stephen King’s ‘The Tommyknockers’ Set For New Adaptation From James Wan [UPDATED]
UPDATE: After a bidding war erupted,Deadlinereports it was Universal Pictures who landed the rights to The Tommyknockers, beating out both Netflix and Sony Pictures for the project. Our original story from July 24, 2025 follows below.The Tommyknockersis the latest work to jump aboard theStephen Kingadaptation train. Following the blockbuster success ofIt, adaptations of King’s work are in high demand. Now,The ConjuringdirectorJames WanandItproducerRoy Leewill team to bring King’s 1987 horror/sci-fi novelThe Tommyknockersto the screen. More onThe Tommyknockersmovie below.
Everybody wants to be in theStephen King business, including James Wan.The Hollywood ReporterconfirmsConjuringandInsidiousdirector Wan andItproducer Roy Lee are joining forces to set up a new film adaptation of King’sThe Tommyknockers. Wan and Lee are working with producer Larry Sanitsky, who also produced the 1993 miniseries adaptation ofThe Tommyknockers. If this all works out, Larry Santisky will be the only person in history to producer two versions ofThe Tommyknockers. Someone call Guinness World Records!
The producers are putting their offer for the adaptation out to both major studios and streaming services, including Netflix. Netflix might be quick to bite, since last year they shepherded two other King adaptations –Gerald’s Gameand1922.
What is The Tommyknockers?
The Tommyknockersis one of King’s rare forays into science fiction. The story involves a centuries-old alien structure that gives anyone who comes in contact with it strange, inhuman, and destructive powers. King was inspired by the H.P. Lovercraft story “The Colour Out of Space”. Here’s the plot synopsis:
It’s worth noting that King himself doesn’t particularly care for the book. The prolific bestselling author pennedThe Tommyknockerswhile he was battling his addiction to alcohol and drugs. Years later, the authorsaid:
“TheTommyknockersis an awful book. That was the last one I wrote before I cleaned up my act. And I’ve thought about it a lot lately and said to myself, “There’s really a good book in here, underneath all the sort of spurious energy that cocaine provides, and I ought to go back.” The book is about 700 pages long, and I’m thinking, ‘There’s probably a good 350-page novel in there.'”
The story itself – which involves people becoming addicted to the destructive power the alien craft gives off – can be read as an allegory for King’s struggles with addiction. Producer Larry Santisky said as much in a statement obtained by THR:
“[The Tommyknockers] is an allegorical tale of addiction (Stephen was struggling with his own at the time), the threat of nuclear power, the danger of mass hysteria and the absurdity of technical evolution run amuck. All are as relevant today as the day the novel was written. It is also a tale about the eternal power of love and the grace of redemption.”
I myself am a very big Stephen King fan, but I share King’s belief thatThe Tommyknockersis, indeed, an awful book. That said, I also agree with King’s statement that thereisa good story in there somewhere, and perhaps James Wan and Roy Lee can nurture it with this new adaptation.
