# List of adaptations of works by Stephen King
Adaptations of works by [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king) are the feature films, television series, miniseries, and stage and other derivative works based on the novels, novellas, and short stories of the American author Stephen King. The first was [Brian De Palma](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-de-palma)'s *Carrie* (1976), and the screen catalog has since grown to well over a hundred titles, making King one of the most adapted living writers.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First adaptation | *Carrie* (1976), directed by Brian De Palma, based on King's fourth-written novel but first to be published[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-stephen-king-adaptations) |
| Scale | By summer 2017, King had published 54 novels and almost 200 short stories, yielding more than 100 film and TV adaptations[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-stephen-king-adaptations) |
| Biggest box office | *It* (2017), made for $30 million, grossed almost $720 million worldwide, the most financially successful King adaptation[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/movies/the-it-factor-why-hollywood-cant-get-enough-of-adapting-the-works-of-stephen-king/) |
| King's rule for adapters | "When you deviate from the story that I wrote, you do so at your own risk"[3](https://apnews.com/article/4d7e03ba7f8e113c03a382816d8e956b) |
| King's own credits | Screenplays for *Creepshow* (1982), *Cat's Eye* (1985), *Silver Bullet* (1985), *Pet Sematary* (1989), and *Sleepwalkers* (1992); director of *Maximum Overdrive* (1986)[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/142431-Stephen-King) |
| Recent output | Six adaptations released in 2025 alone, including *The Monkey*, *The Long Walk*, *The Institute*, and *It: Welcome to Derry*[5](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1715420/upcoming-stephen-king-movies) |
| In development | An eight-episode *Carrie* series for Prime Video by Mike Flanagan, a *Desperation* film at Searchlight Pictures produced by Sam Raimi, and a new *The Mist* adaptation[6](https://stephenking.com/works/television/carrie.html) • [7](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/stephen-kings-desperation-movie-in-the-works-from-final-destination-directors-producer-sam-raimi/) • [5](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1715420/upcoming-stephen-king-movies) |
## Feature films
The film record begins with *Carrie*, released November 3, 1976. De Palma's version of the telekinetic teenager's story earned Oscar nominations for [Sissy Spacek](https://www.edgepedia.org/sissy-spacek) and [Piper Laurie](https://www.edgepedia.org/piper-laurie), and the movie's success pushed King's 1974 debut novel onto the bestseller lists[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-stephen-king-adaptations) • [8](https://www.thewrap.com/stephen-king-appeal-adaptations/). A steady stream followed through the 1980s: *The Shining* (May 23, 1980), *Creepshow* (1982), *[Christine](https://www.edgepedia.org/christine-1983-film)*, *Cujo*, and *The Dead Zone* (all 1983), *Children of the Corn* (1984), *Stand By Me* (August 8, 1986), and *Pet Sematary* (1989)[9](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/index.html).
The 1990s produced several of the most acclaimed entries. *Misery* opened November 30, 1990, *The Shawshank Redemption* September 23, 1994, and *The Green Mile* December 6, 1999[9](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/index.html). Scholars of King on screen note that the non-horror films *Stand By Me* and *The Shawshank Redemption* sit alongside the horror titles as the most praised results[10](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/314913). Later theatrical highlights include *The Mist* (2007), *1408* (2007), the two-part *It* (2017 and 2019), and *Doctor Sleep* (2019)[9](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/index.html).
**The 2020s wave.** [Adaptation](https://www.edgepedia.org/adaptation) output accelerated: *[Doctor Sleep](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-sleep-2019-film)* director Mike Flanagan followed with *Gerald's Game* (2017) and *The Life of Chuck* (September 6, 2024), and 2025 brought *The Monkey* (February 21), *The Long Walk* (September 12), and [Edgar Wright](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-wright)'s *The Running Man* (November 14)[9](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/index.html) • [11](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/06/the-life-of-chuck-review-stephen-king/683139/). *The Long Walk* screenwriter J.T. Mollner has said the production had to ask King's approval for its changes to the story[12](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/the-long-walk-screenwriter-says-he-had-to-go-through-the-motions-to-adapt-the-upcoming-dystopian-horror-thriller-we-had-to-ask-stephen-king-if-he-was-ok-with-it-and-thank-god-he-was/).
## Television adaptations
Television versions began with [Tobe Hooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobe-hooper)'s *Salem's Lot* (1979), an adaptation of King's second published novel that the Guardian ranks among the finest horror events of the 1970s[1](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-stephen-king-adaptations) • [13](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/16/stephen-king-tv-adaptations-rated-bad-to-best-the-institute). The 1990 miniseries *It*, with [Tim Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-curry) as Pennywise, remains a widely remembered version of King's 1,100-page novel[13](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/16/stephen-king-tv-adaptations-rated-bad-to-best-the-institute).
King's long novels have repeatedly returned to television. *The Stand* was adapted as a 1994 miniseries and again in 2020, and scholars have used the two versions to trace how US television's production values and narrative conventions changed between the broadcast and streaming eras[14](https://academic.oup.com/adaptation/article/15/3/402/6611751). The time-travel novel *11/22/63* became a Hulu miniseries first aired November 19, 2015[15](https://stephenking.com/bibliography/). More recent series include HBO's *The Outsider* (2020) and MGM+'s eight-episode *The Institute* (2025), on which King served as executive producer[3](https://apnews.com/article/4d7e03ba7f8e113c03a382816d8e956b) • [13](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/16/stephen-king-tv-adaptations-rated-bad-to-best-the-institute).
## King's involvement and stance
King has both licensed widely and participated directly. The [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) credits him as writer on *Creepshow*, *Cat's Eye*, *Silver Bullet*, *Pet Sematary*, and *Sleepwalkers*, and as director of *Maximum Overdrive* (1986), his one directing credit[4](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/142431-Stephen-King). His official site also lists the Dollar Baby program, under which student and independent filmmakers could option one story for a dollar, with exhibition limited to film festivals, student projects, or demo reels[16](https://stephenking.com/faq/).
His attitude toward fidelity is explicit. In a 2025 interview he described his rule for adapters as "first, do no harm," adding that deviations happen "at your own risk," while acknowledging that "when I write a book, it's a single-person sport and when these people do a TV show or a movie it becomes a team sport"[3](https://apnews.com/article/4d7e03ba7f8e113c03a382816d8e956b). The most famous divergence is [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-kubrick)'s *The Shining* (1980), which King disliked; when his own screenplay was finally filmed as a 1997 miniseries directed by Mick Garris, critics received it poorly[17](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/stephen-king-on-screen-gushing-tribute-king) • [13](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/16/stephen-king-tv-adaptations-rated-bad-to-best-the-institute).
## Reception and the fidelity question
The catalog's quality is uneven by most accounts. A [British Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-film-institute) survey of the field distinguishes mainstream successes such as *Stand by Me*, *Misery*, and *1408* from low-budget productions made largely on the strength of King's name, and notes that fidelity to King's characters and plots does not by itself produce strong films[17](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/stephen-king-on-screen-gushing-tribute-king). Academic work on the two *Stand* adaptations likewise argues that analysis has moved beyond simple fidelity to the original, treating each version as shaped by the commercial and cultural imperatives of its era[14](https://academic.oup.com/adaptation/article/15/3/402/6611751).
Commercially, the horror brand travels well. Commentators attribute the continuing boom to King's high-concept premises, the relative safety of scary movies, and the pull of repeating the success of *It* (2017)[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/movies/the-it-factor-why-hollywood-cant-get-enough-of-adapting-the-works-of-stephen-king/). Directors of recent adaptations, including Osgood Perkins, Edgar Wright, Francis Lawrence, and Mike Flanagan, were all born in the 1970s and have described reading King's early works as youngsters[2](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/movies/the-it-factor-why-hollywood-cant-get-enough-of-adapting-the-works-of-stephen-king/).
## Adaptations in development
Dozens of projects are in various stages of production. The most advanced is *Carrie*, an eight-episode Prime Video series written and run by Mike Flanagan, with King as executive producer, that moves the bullying into social media; episodes are split among Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Axelle Carolyn, Kyra Sedgwick, and Hiromi Kamata[6](https://stephenking.com/works/television/carrie.html). A feature film of the 1996 novel *Desperation* has landed at [Searchlight Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/searchlight-pictures), produced by [Sam Raimi](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-raimi) through Ghost House Pictures and written and directed by the *Final Destination: Bloodlines* duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein[7](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/stephen-kings-desperation-movie-in-the-works-from-final-destination-directors-producer-sam-raimi/). Flanagan has also announced a new adaptation of *The Mist*, and other announced projects include *Fairy Tale*, *Rat*, *Mister Yummy*, and second seasons of *It: Welcome to Derry* and *The Institute*[5](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1715420/upcoming-stephen-king-movies) • [18](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3935294/all-the-stephen-king-adaptations-currently-in-development-from-carrie-to-rat/) • [19](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/upcoming-stephen-king-movies-and-tv-shows/).
## References
1. [10 great Stephen King adaptations, British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-stephen-king-adaptations)
2. [The It factor: Why Hollywood can't get enough of adapting the works of Stephen King, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/movies/the-it-factor-why-hollywood-cant-get-enough-of-adapting-the-works-of-stephen-king/)
3. [Dark series 'The Institute' adaptation gets author Stephen King's thumbs up, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/4d7e03ba7f8e113c03a382816d8e956b)
4. [Stephen King filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/142431-Stephen-King)
5. [Upcoming Stephen King Movies, TV Shows And More, Including The Carrie Series, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1715420/upcoming-stephen-king-movies)
6. [Stephen King | Carrie (television), stephenking.com](https://stephenking.com/works/television/carrie.html)
7. [Stephen King's 'Desperation' Movie in the Works From 'Final Destination' Directors, Producer Sam Raimi, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/stephen-kings-desperation-movie-in-the-works-from-final-destination-directors-producer-sam-raimi/)
8. [A history of adaptations, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/stephen-king-appeal-adaptations/)
9. [Stephen King | Movies (List), stephenking.com](https://stephenking.com/works/movie/index.html)
10. [Screening Stephen King: Adaptation and the Horror Genre in Film and Television, JSTOR](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/314913)
11. [A Stephen King Adaptation With (Almost) No Scares, The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/06/the-life-of-chuck-review-stephen-king/683139/)
12. [The Long Walk screenwriter on adapting the dystopian horror thriller, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/the-long-walk-screenwriter-says-he-had-to-go-through-the-motions-to-adapt-the-upcoming-dystopian-horror-thriller-we-had-to-ask-stephen-king-if-he-was-ok-with-it-and-thank-god-he-was/)
13. [Killer space meatballs to cursed shrubbery: Stephen King's TV adaptations rated bad to best, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/16/stephen-king-tv-adaptations-rated-bad-to-best-the-institute)
14. [Translating Stephen King's The Stand to Quality TV, Adaptation (Oxford Academic)](https://academic.oup.com/adaptation/article/15/3/402/6611751)
15. [Stephen King | Bibliography, stephenking.com](https://stephenking.com/bibliography/)
16. [Stephen King | Frequently Asked Questions, stephenking.com](https://stephenking.com/faq/)
17. [Stephen King on Screen review: a horror hagiography, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/stephen-king-on-screen-gushing-tribute-king)
18. [All the Stephen King Adaptations Currently in Development from 'Carrie' to 'Rat', Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3935294/all-the-stephen-king-adaptations-currently-in-development-from-carrie-to-rat/)
19. [Upcoming Stephen King movies and TV shows in 2026 and beyond, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-movies/upcoming-stephen-king-movies-and-tv-shows/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Adaptations, tie-ins, and fictional worlds › Works adapted from novels › Cross-medium adaptation lists and bibliographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license