Salem’s Lot: Gary Dauberman’s Stephen King Adaptation Sets Release Date

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Salem’s Lot: Gary Dauberman’s Stephen King Adaptation Sets Release Date

New Line Cinema’s adaptation of Stephen King’s classic horror tale Salem’s Lot has set a September 9, 2022 release date, according to Deadline.

Lewis Pullman (Bad Times at the El Royale) will play Ben Mears, with Emmy nominee Bill Camp (The Night Of) as Matthew Burke, Makenzie Leigh (The Assistant) as Susan Norton, Spencer Treat Clark (Animal Kingdom) as Mike Ryerson, and Oscar nominee Alfre Woodard (See) as Dr. Cody.

William Sadler (Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Shawshank Redemption) will also star in the film in an undisclosed role. Production is currently underway in Boston.

In the 1975 horror novel, author Ben Mears returns to the town of Jerusalem’s Lot (‘Salem’s Lot for short) to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.

Gary Dauberman is directing and writing the screenplay for producer James Wan (Conjuring universe, Saw franchise). This will be the latest King project Dauberman has adapted after writing the screenplays for 2017’s IT and 2019’s IT Chapter Two, with both films directed by Andy Muschietti.

Wan will produce Salem’s Lot alongside his Atomic Monster partner Michael Clear, Vertigo’s Roy Lee, and Mark Wolper. Dauberman, who worked with Wan on 2014’s Annabelle and The Nun and made his directorial debut with the sequel Annabelle Comes Home, will executive produce. Executive producers also include Michael Bederman, Atomic Monster’s Judson Scott, and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs.

Salem’s Lot was previously adapted into a miniseries in 1979, directed by Tobe Hooper, with David Soul playing the role of Ben Mears. The movie was followed up by the 1987 film A Return to Salem’s Lot from Larry Cohen. In 2004, the story was adapted into another TV miniseries starring Rob Lowe as Ben Mears. This adaptation was written by Peter Filardi, who currently serves as a co-creator, co-writer, and executive producer for Epix’s Stephen King series Chapelwaite, based on King’s short story Jerusalem’s Lot.