
There’s no contemporary writer who has had as many individual adaptations of their work as Stephen King. Since his first novel, Carrie, was brought to screen by Brian DePalma in 1976, King has been a Hollywood mainstay, an ongoing source of new material for his constant readers (and watchers). And following the blockbuster success of It (2017), King fans are enjoying a new renaissance—not that he was ever too far from our screens.
Despite over 60 adaptations and re-adaptations of his work, novels, and short stories, there’s still plenty of material left for filmmakers to explore and reimagine. That includes some untouched greats that we’ll get to in this list. But there are also previously adapted novels that are prime for a modern update, many of which were in various stages of development before stalling during the pandemic.
This year alone will see the release of new versions of King’s novels Firestarter and Salem’s Lot, along with first-time film adaptations of the short stories Mr. Harrigan’s Phone and The Boogeyman. While some of the novels on the list have been optioned or even have screenplays out there, until they’re officially in production, they remain just possibilities. So, without further ado, allow us to present 15 Stephen King stories that deserve to have their shelf lives extended onscreen.