Studio Lionsgate is currently exploring the possibility of relaunching some of the brands they have. The studio behind successful series such as ‘John Wick’, ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Twilight’ wants to re-release the cult thriller ‘American Psycho’ and is already looking for the right people to write the script. However, it is not the only thriller film adaptation where the time is ripe for a new edition.
The idea is at an even earlier stage, a remake of David Cronenberg’s masterful Stephen King adaptation “The Dead Zone” aka “Dead Zone – The Killer” close to. Although Lionsgate was not involved with Cronenberg’s excellent horror thriller, it did produce the TV series Dead Zone, which ran for a whopping six seasons from 2002 to 2007. We still have rights from that time that now make it possible to get a new film adaptation for the cinema.
A teacher must kill the next president: this is “Dead Zone”
Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, in his newsletter first reported on the project, does not yet provide further details. While we already know with the remake of “American Psycho” that the story will be moved to the present, such information is not yet available for “The Dead Zone”. But it will probably also be a modern adaptation. After all, this is the easiest way to add something new to the original story.
At the center of Stephen King’s story is the young teacher Johnny Smith, who falls into a coma after a serious car accident. When he wakes up again years later, he soon discovers that he now has clairvoyant powers. When he touches someone, he can see their future. Johnny can quickly use this for good, saving lives and helping catch a serial killer. But when he shakes hands with a politician at a campaign rally, he predicts that as US president he will start a nuclear war. How can Johnny stop this? There’s only one way: he has to kill the politician…
Stephen King’s novel was published in 1979. However, the film adaptation just a few years later is even more famous. In 1984, “Dead Zone” by body horror master David Cronenberg (“The Fly,” “Crash”) was released in theaters. The excellent horror-thriller adaptation starring a great Christopher Walken (“Pulp Fiction”, “True Romance”) became a classic and is part of our list of the best horror films of all time.