On average, how far do you think you could walk? Not just a quick trip around the block, but the sort of walking where you really start to notice it.
We’re talking feet blistering, body shaking, knees buckling. The sort of walking where you start and you simply don’t stop.
Even when your legs finally give way, you drag yourself up off the floor and keep going. Why? Because those are the rules, and quitting is for the dead.
Not sure how well you would fare? Well, pray you never find out.
Although, this is the predicament facing a collection of young men in director Francis Lawrence’s forthcoming horror movie, The Long Walk. The film is a dark, dystopian thriller which is heading to cinemas after the summer blockbuster season dies down, and promises to depict the true meaning of a lengthy stroll.
Working from a screenplay by JT Mollner (Strange Darling), The Long Walk is set in a rather bleak version of the United States, where a totalitarian regime looms large. In the film, young men enter an annual walking contest, where they must stick to a strict walking schedule or suffer the consequences.
Fail to adhere to the schedule and a swift execution is handed out. The winner is the last man standing.
Now if some of this sounds familiar it’s possible you’ve read the book this film is based on. Mollner’s screenplay is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name.
Published in 1979, under the pseydonym, Richard Bachman, The Long Walk is the first book King ever wrote. It wasn’t his first published book, that distinction goes to 1974’s Carrie, but The Long Walk was a story he was tinkering with way back in 1966 while at university.
Of course, you may now be asking the question, ‘why hasn’t this book been adapted for film before?’ It’s a completely valid question, which prompts the response: ‘A few have tried’.
George A. Romero was attached to an adaptation of The Long Walk back in the late 1980s, before Frank Darabont became connected to the project in the mid-’00s. The Autopsy of Jane Doe‘s André Øvredal was the last high-profile name in the frame for directing the movie, before it ultimately fell to Francis Lawrence to bring everything to fruition.
And this is certainly an encouraging thing. Lawrence is no stranger to dystopian adaptations, having directed four Hunger Games movies, including Catching Fire (2013), Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014), Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015), and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023).
Outside of this, he called the shots on the Will Smith horror-thriller, I Am Legend (2007), and brought the Keanu Reeves supernatural comic book film, Constantine (2005) to life. So, yeah, it’s fair to say he certainly knows his way around dark material.
To get this film onto the screen, Lawrence has re-teamed with Belgian cinematographer Jo Willems to ensure the right visual tone for his film. The pair have a good working relationship, having previously collaborated on the aforementioned Hunger Games movies, while Willems’ back catalogue outside of Lawrence includes the likes of Hard Candy (2005), 30 Days of Night (2007), and His House (2020), amongst others.
As for the music, Jeremiah Fraites of The Lumineers will be on hand to provide the score for The Long Walk. Expect something suitably unsettling to complement the on-screen horror.
This then just leaves the cast, which includes Cooper Hoffman, Garrett Wareing, Joshua Odjick, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Judy Greer, and Alien: Romulus (2024) star, David Jonsson. Oh, and yes, that was Mark Hamill you saw in the trailer.
Hamill is on board the project, taking on the role of The Major. In the original novel, The Major is the leader of the secret police force known as the Squads.
Should you wish to check out The Long Walk, the movie will be arriving during the Spooky Season, making its debut on September 12th. The film is being distributed by Lionsgate, with Lawrence producing alongside Roy Lee, Cameron MacConomy, and Steven Schneider.
Sound like something you want to take a look at? Then you had best get limbering up now, ahead of your trip to the flicks.
Walking is advised.
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