By now, most new Stephen King fans find themselves reading his books because they've seen his screen adaptations, not the other way around. It's hard to believe that after 49 years of his writing and 49 screen adaptations, not all of King's novels have even been put to the screen yet! Twenty of his novels are still yet to be given the movie or TV treatment, and these are the top 10 that need to be adapted:

RELATED: Television Is the Only Medium 'The Dark Tower' Could Thrive In

The Eyes of the Dragon (1987)

The Eyes of the Dragon Book Cover
Image Via Viking

This fantasy novel from King was originally titled The Napkins. It takes place in King's fictional world of Delain from his Dark Tower series that connects all the worlds of his stories. In 1987, The Eyes of the Dragon was considered a deviation for the author who had established himself as an exclusive horror writer until then. This is a tale of archetypal heroes in the vein of Dungeons and Dragons with princes and wizards to boot! With yet another adaptation of The Dark Tower in the works from The Haunting of Hill House's Mike Flanagan, now is the perfect time for an adaptation of one of King's oldest unadapted stories.

Insomnia (1994)

Insomnia by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Viking

Not to be confused with 2002's Christopher Nolan movie of the same name (despite its Stephen King Bag of Bones style), King's Insomnia is yet to be adapted for the screen. This novel is set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine which King also uses as the backdrop for his novels It and Dreamcatcher. It follows widower Ralph as he begins to suffer from the titular condition, waking earlier each night until he barely sleeps at all. Ralph begins to hallucinate "auras" he calls "little bald doctors," until he has reason to believe that these aren't hallucinations at all and that they exist in a different reality. Ralph also begins to see the Dark Tower, a representation of the multiverse. With this story's discussion of the taboo topic of abortion, it's no surprise that studios have feared adapting this material. However now, in the wake of Everything Everywhere All at Once, there has never been a better time for this mind-bending world-shattering Stephen King story.

The Regulators (1996)

The Regulators by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Dutton

Written under King's pseudonym Richard Bachman as a "mirror novel" to his other book Desperation, The Regulators began as a screenplay titled The Shotgunners which writer-director Sam Peckinpah helped him develop but died before King's second draft. The Regulators and Desperation take place in parallel universes to each other, with most characters from one present in the other, albeit in an alternative world. All the more surprising therefore that The Regulators was never adapted when ABC broadcast a TV movie based on Desperation in 2006, starring Ron Perlman.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)

9a3f3acbd83173723829299aef301ab9

A favorite among King fans, this novel sees a young girl on a hiking trip with her brother and recently-divorced mother. Frustrated by conversations about the divorce, she slows down, putting some distance between herself and her family. After falling down an embankment and getting lost, Trisha begins to hallucinate during her overnight struggle for survival. She imagines people from her life coming to her, including her favorite baseball player Tom Gordon, as well as some Gods of the forest.

Although King shows his readers that Trisha's trials and tribulations are down to earth, her psychological state leads her to see the experience as a more profound justification of why she deserves to survive. The story resembles movies like 127 Hours but with a similar tone to Guillermo del Toro's films like Pan's Labyrinth. Despite it being the perfect material for adaptation, it has been in movie development time and time again with still no finished film.

From a Buick 8 (2002)

From a Buick 8 by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Scribner

Exactly like King's classic Christine, this story is set in Western Pennsylvania and features a supernatural car. From a Buick 8 (which gets its title from the Bob Dylan song From a Buick 6) follows Ned, the son of a man killed by a drunk driver. Upon further investigation, Ned discovers that the car has been held in storage for years after being abandoned by a mysterious driver. The car's mechanics and electronics seem redundant, for show only, and the car closer resembles a biological entity that heals itself like humans. Given this current era of remakes and sequels to famous intellectual property, it's no surprise that From a Buick 8 (feeling very much like a spiritual sequel to Christine) has been in development for years and continues to be to this day.

Duma Key (2008)

Duma Key by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Scribner

Fans of the video game Alan Wake will be pleased to discover this story which inspired the King-esque game plot. After Edgar Freemantle survives a workplace injury that costs him an arm, he is urged by doctors to change his lifestyle and pick up his old hobby of restoring paintings. He moves to Florida, to the titular Key, where he gets to know the various interesting characters of the island.

As Edgar's art develops, decades-old paranormal phenomena return to the island. His paintings put him into a trance and capture psychic visions, revealing to him things he could not have possibly known. These insights turn out to be true, and as he continues, he finds that his newfound artistic powers are even able to manipulate the real world, not just reveal it. It was announced that Duma Key has been in adaptation development in the past but has since been put on hold, unfortunately.

Joyland (2013)

Joyland by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Hard Case Crime

This "Hard Case Crime" paperback harkens back to the hard-boiled detective genre of the '30s. Devin Jones gets a job at North Carolina's titular theme park, where he is told by the fortune-teller that he will soon meet a girl with a red hat and a boy with a dog. After his girlfriend writes to him that they're breaking up, Devin throws himself into his work as the park's mascot, neglecting his own health until one day, he saves a girl in a red hat from choking on a hot dog.

Now with a new perspective on the supernatural, Devin and his friends investigate the mysterious death of a girl named Linda Gray who had been murdered in the park's "Horror House," and is said to still haunt it. This story is perfectly suited for fans of shows like Stranger Things, which openly took a lot of inspiration from classic Stephen King adaptations. Much like King's other unadapted works, Joyland was announced as being developed for TV in 2018, but the process has since halted.

Gwendy's Button Box (2017)

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Cemetery Dance

This horror novella was written by King and Richard Chizmar and is the first of a trilogy so far. Its sequel, Gwendy's Magic Feather, was written solely by Chizmar before King returned to co-write the latest, Gwendy's Final Task, published in 2022. The story takes place in the fictional town of Castle Rock where other classic King stories have been set, including The Dead Zone, Cujo, and the J.J. Abrams TV series Castle Rock which features multiple King characters in an overlapping world. When 12-year-old Gwendy Peterson comes across a mysterious stranger in a black hat, he offers her a mahogany box with colored buttons which produce gifts with magical abilities. The man warns her though that the gifts will not outweigh the responsibility of owning the box. A classic monkey-paw type of scenario ensues as Gwendy's adventure unfolds.

Elevation (2018)

Elevation by Stephen King Book Cover
Image Via Scribner

In a rare treat for King fans, Elevation (as the title would suggest) is an uplifting and endearing story, unlike many of King's more somber dismally-ending horror novels. It follows Scott Carey who suffers from a strange disease that causes unexplainable changes to his body. Despite appearing healthy on the outside, he is losing weight at a drastic rate, and while battling this illness, he takes it upon himself to help the local townsfolk, including a lesbian couple who struggle to start a business amidst the disapproving bigots of Castle Rock. This upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences is one of King's shortest works; a novella and a quick read for most. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he called Elevation "almost like a sequel to Gwendy. Sometimes you seed the ground, and you get a little fertilizer, and things turn out."

Later (2021)

Later by Stephen King Cover
Image Via Hard Case Crime

If you ever wondered what the boy from The Sixth Sense could do with his ability to see and speak to ghosts as a teenager, Later explores the answer. There is, however, an added layer to King's story - these ghosts can only answer questions truthfully. Jamie lives in New York with his single mother, the only one who knows about his special skills. Her work as a literary agent is put in jeopardy when her star client dies before finishing his book, and Jamie speaks to his ghost to help his struggling mother finish the book herself. When his mother's ex-girlfriend, a drug-addicted NYPD detective, also faces career-ending difficulties, she kidnaps Jamie, forcing him to use his powers and help her thwart the plot of the serial bomber. This story is another Hard Case Crime publication. It's Lockwood and Co, Ghosts and Glass Onion combined, making now the perfect time for an adaptation of Later.