Bad Robot, the company owned by producer and directorJ.J. Abrams,is adaptingStephen King’s bestselling novelBilly Summersinto a limited series,Deadlinereports.
In the novel, Billy is an ex-army sniper turned killer-for-hire who, only kills “bad men”. Billy wants out, but first, there is one last hit. Tasked with a hit on a small-time crook Joel Allen, he must live a double life in the local community while waiting for his shot. But soon, Billy grows increasingly skeptical of the mobsters who hired him.
King and Bad Robot have a long history as collaborators, dating back to the Hulu series11.22.63starringJames Franco. Abrams is also an executive producer on the two-season anthology seriesCastle Rock, based on King’s writing’s shared universe. Their last collaboration was the Apple TV+ seriesLisey’s Story.Ed ZwickandMarshall Herskovitzwill be in charge of adaptingBilly Summers, with Zwick pulling double duty as director. No networks or studios are attached at this time, and it’s reported that the adaptation is being shopped around.
Related:‘The Boogeyman’: Sophie Thatcher and Chris Messina Cast in Stephen King Adaptation
Aside from Billy Summers, it was also announced earlier this year that King has yet another novel adaptation in the works from hit horror production company Blumhouse Television is on the way. Blumhouse is set to take on the novelLater, part of Titan Books’sHard Case Crimeseries that also includes previous Stephen King novelsThe Colorado KidandJoyland.Lucy Liuis set to star in the upcoming series.
Showing no shortage of King adaptations, Hulu is working onThe Boogeyman, a film based on the tale of the same name from King’s seminal short story anthologyNight Shift, first published in 1978. This will be the tenth short story in the twenty-story collection to be turned either into a feature film or TV movie. Among the others areChildren of the Corn,Maximum Overdrive,The Mangler, andSometimes They Come Back.Hostdirector Rob Savage was announced to be directing the adaptation with the project now finding its two stars inSophie ThatcherYellowjacketsandBirds of Prey’sChris Messina.
