The cinematic Stephen King universe has gained another legendary star. Deadline reports that Alfre Woodard has joined the cast of New Line’s adaptation of Salem’s Lot alongside Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Spencer Treat Clark, and Bill Camp. Woodard is set to play Dr. Cody — who, in King’s original novel, was a man — the Van Helsing type who assists the novel’s protagonists in fighting the spread of vampires in their small town.
Salem’s Lot follows young author Ben Mears (Pullman) as he returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in order to find inspiration for his next novel — only to discover that the town’s beloved residents have become legions of undead vampires. The novel, originally published in 1975, was King’s first number-one New York Times bestseller and has been cited by the author himself as his favorite of all of his legendary horror novels.
Woodard is no stranger to thrillers either. The four-time Emmy Award winner has made appearances in horror films like Annabelle and is currently set to star in the psychological thriller Viral with Blair Underwood, as well as The Gray Man, another thriller directed by Marvel alums Joe and Anthony Russo, with whom Woodard worked on 2016’s Captain America: Civil War.
Salem’s Lot is one of many Stephen King adaptations hitting our screens in the near future. Chapelwaite, starring Adrien Brody and based on a short story directly connected to Salem’s Lot, premiered on Epix on August 22, and versions of Christine and The Dark Half are also currently in production. The vampire novel was also adapted into two television miniseries in 1979 and 2004, the former of which was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Salem’s Lot is written and directed by Gary Dauberman, with executive producers Michael Bederman, Andrew Childs, and Judson Scott. No release date for the film has yet been announced.