In our current world, simultaneous day-and-date releases of films in theaters and on streaming services has become an industry standard. Now, it seems that Firestarter is the latest film to get the day-and-date treatment. The Blumhouse film, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, will be released both in theaters and on Peacock on May 13.
Firestarter is a science-fiction horror thriller that tells the story of a young girl with pyrokinetic powers who is on the run with her family, trying to escape a mysterious government agency that wants to capture her and use her powers as a weapon. The novel was previously adapted into a film in 1984, starring Drew Barrymore, and a made-for-TV sequel was made in 2002. This new adaptation stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong as the young girl with extraordinary powers, with Zac Efron and Sydney Lemmon as her parents, and Kurtwood Smith, John Beasley, and Gloria Reuben in supporting roles.
Firestarter will be the fourth film from Universal to get a day-and-date release on Peacock, alongside The Boss Baby: Family Business, Halloween Kills, and the upcoming romantic comedy Marry Me. The film is directed by Keith Thomas, with a screenplay adapted from King’s novel by Scott Teems, and is produced by Jason Blum for Blumhouse and Akiva Goldsman for Weed Road Pictures, as well as Ryan Turek, Gregory Lessans, Scott Teems, Martha De Laurentiis, J.D. Lifshitz, and Raphael Margules.
It certainly is an exciting time for King’s fans, with his extensive body of work getting more adaptations than ever. Within the last few years, there have been adaptations of The Outsider starring Ben Mendelsohn, The Stand starring Alexander Skarsgård, and Chapelwaite, an adaptation of Jerusalem's Lot starring Adrien Brody, among many others. Firestarter is just the next adaptation of King’s work coming to audiences, with countless others on the way. Recently it was announced that Lucy Liu would be starring in an adaptation of his novel Later, that Sophie Thatcher and Chris Messina would star in The Boogeyman, based on his short story of the same name, and an adaptation of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone will star Donald Sutherland and Jaeden Martell.
Firestarter hits theaters and Peacock on May 13.