With Stephen King’s Under the Dome set for its series debut on CBS this summer, the acclaimed author may be setting his sights on another TV show.  J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is vying for the TV rights to King’s time-traveling John F. Kennedy assassination novel, 11/22/63.  An adaptation of the book was previously attempted for a feature film, but there were creative disagreements over how to handle the unwieldy tome.  It looks like 11/22/63 may be bound for cable as a Warner Bros.-backed TV series instead of a full-length feature.  Hit the jump for more.

The first footage from the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Under the Dome has been released.  As probably the most anticipated new show coming out this summer, the first look includes scenes from the episodes as well as some behind-the-scenes interviews with King, the creative team, and several of the actors.  Not too much has been revealed about the adaptation, but from what could be gathered during their WonderCon  panel and this first look, it looks like this could very well be a riveting, suspenseful, and imaginative interpretation of the novel.

King himself has been very involved, but also vocal about his support for the show to deviate from the novel and explore other avenues with the characters and the story.  With Brian K. Vaughan (Lost) at the helm of the show and a talented cast that includes Rachelle Lefevre, Mike Vogel, Dean Norris, Britt Robertson, and Keith Harris, I’m expecting a solid and gripping thirteen episodes.  The series will premiere sometime in June.  Hit the jump for the first look.

The cast and crew of Under the Dome, the latest in the seemingly endless slew of Stephen King adaptations, was on hand today to give fans a sneak peak at what the new CBS show has to offer. The story kicks off after the town of Chester’s Mill is inexplicably encased in an invisible and impenetrable dome. As an avid reader of King’s novels I have to admit that Under the Dome is not my favorite of his works, but the premise has great potential for episodic adaptation, particularly with “Y: The Last Man” and Lost scribe Brian K. Vaughan at the helm.

Under the Dome, which premieres June 24^th on CBS, stars Rachelle Lefevre, Dean Norris, Mike Vogel, R. Keith Harris, and Britt Robertson. Hit the jump for highlights from the panel.

Director Jonathan Demme has one less potential project on his desk.  A little over a year ago, Demme signed on to write, produce, and direct an adaptation of Stephen King’s sci-fi novel 11/22/63.  It was rather exciting news, as the story centers on a 35-year-old high school English teacher who travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  Well it appears that Demme and King didn’t exactly see eye to eye on how to adapt the project, as the director has now exited the project.  Hit the jump to find out why.

While his most recent directorial effort, Argo, is beginning to generate well-deserved Oscar buzz, Ben Affleck spoke briefly about some of his upcoming projects that are sure to attract a lot of interest. When last we reported on Affleck collaborating with Matt Damon, it was to shed some light on the details of their Whitey Bulger picture. The rise-and-fall biopic of the Boston-area crime boss is apparently still in development, but Affleck did give a quick comment on it.

A bigger picture is Affleck’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, a long-gestating picture that has fans hoping for some good news. Unfortunately, it’s proving to be an unwieldy bit of source material as Affleck admits to struggling with it. Struggling, not giving up. Hit the jump for more quotes from Affleck. 

If you thought all of Stephen King’s works had been adapted already (some of them twice), think again.  His short story “Gramma,” appearing in King’s 1985 short-story collection “Skeleton Crew,” is set to be adapted into the horror feature, Mercy.  The short story centered on a boy left at home to watch over his bed-ridden grandmother, only to come to the realization that Gramma harbored a secret much darker than he could ever have imagined.  Universal has teamed up with Blumhouse Productions for the adaptation. Hit the jump to read up on the reason for the title change, as well as the cast and crew who have signed on so far.

It’s been 35 years since The Shining first graced bookshelves, but fans will only have to wait one more year for Stephen King’s sequel to be released.  Doctor Sleep, which we announced in a previous article, will now be released on September 24th, 2013.  The novel will center on Dan Torrance, the grown-up protagonist from the original story.  As a wanderer who finally settles down in a New Hampshire town, he works at a nursing home and uses his “shining” to help the residents pass painlessly into eternal sleep.  He also must defend himself and Abra Stone, a tween girl gifted with the shining, from a roving band of supernaturals who feed off their power.  Much like The Shining was adapted into the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film, we can certainly expect to see some feature adaptation news of Doctor Sleep in the coming months.  Hit the jump for more on King’s sequel.

When Hollywood decides to greenlight a remake, we’re always interested to see if the contemporary director will put an original spin on the project or if it will be a shot-for-shot remake (see: Gus Van Sant’s 1998 Psycho remake).  So now that 2013 will feature remakes of Sam Raimi’s 1981cult classic Evil Dead and Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie, we’re at least curious as to which, if either, will offer moviegoers something new on the big screen.

Fede Alvarez’s The Evil Dead stars Jane Levy (Suburgatory), Shiloh Fernandez (Red Riding Hood), Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers), Jessica Lucas (Cloverfield) and Elizabeth Blackmore (Burning Man) and opens April 12th, 2013.  Kimberly Perice’s Carrie remake stars Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass) in the title role alongside Judy Greer (13 Going on 30), Portia Doubleday (Youth in Revolt), Alex Russell (Chronicle), Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers), Ansel Elgort and Julianne Moore (Magnolia), opening March 15th, 2013.  Hit the jump to check out the new official synopses. 

It was a little more than two weeks ago that we brought you the sobering news that Imagine’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series had a go/no-go deadline looming.  That deadline has now come and gone and it looks as if Warner Bros. has passed.  This comes as yet another setback to the project, which has seen its share of woes: being let go by Universal, several budgetary concerns and difficulty landing a lead.  The latest iteration of the script from Akiva Goldsman had Russell Crowe showing an interest if the project were to be greenlit.  Sadly, that did not happen at Warner Bros.  But there may yet be hope for Roland Deschain and director/producer Ron Howard.  Hit the jump for more.

[Update: Deadline reports that Media Rights Capital is in "serious talks" to finance the project, in part because MRC executive Modi Wiczyk is apparently a big fan of the books.  The original story follows after the jump.]

When last we reported on the beleaguered adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, it was to tell you that the property had moved from Universal to Warner Bros. and that principal actor Javier Bardem may have been lost in the transition.  Now we have word that Russell Crowe is in talks to star as the gunslinger, Roland Deschain.  There’s no deal currently inked out, but the studio will be factoring Crowe’s involvement with the picture into their decision on whether or not to greenlight the film at all.  Here’s the rub: the yay or nay will come within the next two weeks.  Much more on the latest developments surrounding The Dark Tower after the jump.

Warner Bros. is reportedly “quietly exploring the possibility” of a prequel to The Shining.  A WB spokeswoman told the LA Times that the project is at a very early stage and not even formally in development.  But now that the report is published, it will be difficult for the studio to explore the idea quietly, and it is hard to believe that you all will react positively to the news.  At first glance, it sounds like a terrible idea.  The Shining is about a relatively normal writer who takes his family to an isolated hotel and slowly descends into madness.  The prequel will be set before this character journey begins, and so will tell the story of… what, exactly?  To be fair, the presence of a psychic son should offer some plot possibilities.  [Edit: A commenter brings up a possibility that I stupidly overlooked: the movie follows other characters during their stay at the Overlook Hotel rather than the Torrance family.  That is indeed a more viable premise.]

The bright spot is the team in charge of development: writer/producers Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) with their producing partner Bradley Fischer (Black Swan).  There are solid psychological horror credits in those parentheses, so if there is a story to be told, they’ll find it.  More after the jump.

Here are some recent casting additions at a glance:

• Justin Long (Live Free or Die Hard) is in talks to star in the adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, The Ten O’Clock People.
• Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) is the latest addition to the White House thriller Olympus Has Fallen, starring Aaron Eckhart and Gerard Butler.
• Oscar Isaac (Drive) is in negotiations to star opposite Viggo Mortensen in Hossein Amini’s The Two Faces of January.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

An adaptation of Stephen King’s It is moving from the television to the big screen, courtesy of director Cary Fukunaga (Jane Eyre).  Fukunaga, who also wrote and directed the 2009 drama, Sin Nombre, will co-write the script with Chase Palmer. Known for the density of his books, King’s It weighs in at a robust 1,104 pages.  Having said that, Fukunaga and Palmer plan to tackle the tale in two films (Palmer previously adapted Frank Herbert’s Dune for Paramount, at a much more manageable 544 pages).  The plot of It centers on a group of loser kids who band together to defeat a mysterious creature who preys on children.  Thinking themselves safe as adults, It comes back to test their mettle once again.  Hit the jump for more on It.

Director Tom Holland and author Stephen King are reuniting once again to bring another one of King’s works to the big screen.  Deadline reports that Holland, who directed Thinner and The Langoliers, will write and direct an adaptation of King’s short story The Ten O’Clock People.  The story originally appeared in King’s 1993 Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection and centers on a man in Boston “who in trying to kick his smoking habit uncovers a frightening aspect of reality that he plans to extinguish through extreme measures.”

The story was King trying to kick his own smoking habit, and Holland plans on making the film “a modernization” of that original story in the vein of a paranoid suspense piece.  In addition to Thinner and The Langoliers, Holland also direct the original Fright Night and Child’s Play.

The cast is really starting to shape up for Kimberley Peirce’s (Boys Don’t Cry) remake of the classic horror film, Carrie.  The new adaptation of the Stephen King source novel already features Chloe Moretz in the title role with Julianne Moore playing Carrie’s conservative and controlling mother.  Now, it looks like one of Carrie’s classmate tormenters are in the process of being cast, with Gabriella Wilde (The Three Musketeers) having recently joined.  Judy Greer (13 Going on 30) is reportedly in talks to play the pivotal role of the girls’ gym teacher.  It’s not known yet whether the Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Big Love) adaptation will follow Brian De Palma’s original to the letter or if some artistic license will be taken.  Hit the jump for more info on the Carrie casting news. [Update: We've received word that Ivana Baquero is no longer in consideration for the role.  Also, no casting decisions have yet been made for the role of the gym teacher.]