Right now several Stephen King novel and story adaptations are doing the rounds – or are about to – in movie theaters and on television. Variety asked King, 69, what he would like to see next and he emphatically said “Lisey’s Story” would be his prime choice.

Latest on adaptations of Stephen King novels and stories

Right at this moment “The Dark Tower” is showing in theaters, while “Mr. Mercedes” and “The Mist” are up and running on TV on Audience Network and Spike respectively. The exciting new project “Castle Rock” is in the making – which will draw several characters and storylines from across several King novels – while excitement is building for the latest adaptation of the Pennywise the clown horror, “It” to air in theaters on September 8.

As noted by Movieweb, two Netflix movies are also in the works for King’s bondage novel, “Gerald’s Game” and the adaptation of his novella, “1922,” starring Thomas Jane and Molly Parker. Reportedly Andrés Muschietti, the director of the remake of King’s “It,” has a yearning to do a new adaptation of the horror novel “Pet Sematary” and King’s short SciFi story, “Jaunt.”

What novel would Stephen King next like to see adapted?

This is all very exciting for both King himself and his many Constant Readers and Variety recently interviewed the author to chat about all these latest TV and movie projects.

However, they wanted to know, if it was up to King himself, what story or novel would he like to next be adapted for the big or small screen. According to King, that novel is “Lisey’s Story,” which the author said is his personal favorite. He said he would love to see that one done, especially with the openness on streaming services these days on TV and the cable networks.

Interestingly, “Lisey’s Story” is rumored to have come from King’s own personal experiences relating to writing, marriage and substance abuse.

The novel is a horror/romance story, written after the 1999 incident where King was hit by a van, suffering serious injuries. King mentioned that after he finally got home from the hospital, he found Tabitha, his wife, had rearranged his office with many of his belongings stored away in boxes. He said he instantly imagined what that study would look like if he had died in the accident.

King, movies and ‘sitting on a suitcase syndrome’

King also spoke about how he likes the fact book adaptations can be spread out as television series these days, giving more scope to cover the whole story. He said trying to cram everything into a two-hour movie was what he called “sitting on a suitcase syndrome.”

The analogy was that if you try to pack in too many clothes at once, the suitcase won’t close and you have to sit on it until you can latch it.

Of course, by forcing the issue, that suitcase will often burst open on the baggage carousel, throwing your dirty laundry all over the place. So whereas in a movie it is difficult to truly represent the original tale, a television series allows the story to be spread over ten or more episodes. King then mentioned the critically-acclaimed “The Handmaid’s Tale,” an extraordinary series that does full justice to the original novel.

While not specifically mentioning which of the adaptations suffered from the “sitting on a suitcase syndrome,” many fans will know exactly which films or TV series he was speaking about. However, as King has praised Muschietti’s remake of “It,” we can be pretty certain that particular one doesn’t come under that heading.

While fans will most likely agree with King that “Lisey’s Story” would make a great adaptation for the smaller screen, in the meantime we can enjoy all the latest King adaptations available right now and be coming up shortly.
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