It was revealed some time ago that a film adaptation of King’s novel Salem’s Lot is being worked on. The studio behind the project is New Line, and one of the producers is James Wan. The director of the film is Gary Dauberman (It, The Nun, Annabelle Comes Home) who is also in charge of the script. Filming is expected to begin as early as September, so it’s no surprise that the film’s main cast has been revealed.
The lead role will be played by Lewis Pullman (The Strangers: Prey at Night) as Ben Mears, an author returning to his hometown – Jerusalem’s Lot, hoping that living in an old villa will help him get rid of his own demons and give inspiration for his new book. But he will soon discover that his hometown is being besieged by sinister forces, prompting him to gather a group of people to fight the evil presence.
Other roles will be played by Makenzie Leigh (The Assistant) as Susan Norton, Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit) as Matthew Burke and Spencer Treat Clark (Glass) as Mike Ryerson.
In the novel, Susan Norton is a resident of Jerusalem’s Lot. Ben and she fall in love over time. Matt Burke is a former high school English teacher who is familiar with the sinister past of Marten’s House and helps Ben. Mike Ryerson is one of the simple people in town and becomes a victim of ongoing events.
Salem’s Lot was Stephen King’s first novel to top the New York Times bestseller list and became an instant classic almost immediately after its publication.
The novel was already adapted in 1979 into CBS’s two-part mini-series, directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) and starring David Soul. The series was well received and reappeared on TV for years. It was later edited and published in a shorter version on VHS. Another adaptation of the novel was made into a mini-series that was done for TNT in 2004 with Rob Lowe in the lead role. She had some very cool vampire moments, but overall it wasn’t any particular accomplishment.
