Another Stephen King story is headed to the big screen.
Theo James is set to star in a film based on King’s story “The Monkey,” first published in Gallery magazine in 1980 and later collected in the book Skeleton Crew, Deadline reports. The story follows two brothers who find a cymbal-banging monkey toy that brings death to people around it.
James, known for his role in the movies based on the Divergent series of YA novels by Veronica Roth, as well as his recent turn in the second season of HBO’s The White Lotus, will play the lead role in the film.
The movie will be written and directed by Osgood Perkins, who has previously helmed the films I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House and Gretel & Hansel. Among the film’s producers is James Wan, the Saw and Aquaman director who is also producing an upcoming film based on King’s 1975 novel, ’Salem’s Lot.
News of the film comes just one day after it was announced that Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill would star in a film adaptation of King’s novella “The Life of Chuck.” The projects are two of many King adaptations currently in the works.
Wan told Deadline, “Stephen King is the godfather of the horror genre. He had a huge influence on me as a child and throughout my career, and it’s always been a dream to help bring one of his stories to life. ‘The Monkey’ is a personal favorite, with its simple, iconic and incredibly marketable conceit. And I can’t imagine anyone better than a visionary and lifelong genre fan like Osgood to bring this to life.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
