Five Stephen King Adaptations That Need a Remake

‘Salem’s Lot – (1979)

Cast – David Soul (Ben Mears), Reggie Nalder (Kurt Barlow)

Ideal Remake Cast – Luke Wilson (Mears), Sean Bean (Barlow)

Keep This Line – “You’ll sleep with the dead, teacher.”

First off, I’m going to hold my sigul up and rebuke the 2004 reboot of this show because it was so horrific. The only saving grace was Rutger Hauer as Barlow, and that’s solely because Hauer is such an amazing actor he could make a cereal commercial interesting.

Moving on, the ’79 miniseries is almost 40-years-old. As one of King’s scariest pieces of work, ‘Salem’s Lot deserves a proper re-imagining for the big screen. As terrifying as Nalder’s Barlow was, the show/movie should stick with the script and keep Barlow a gentleman’s gentleman. Sadly, it’s doubtful Hauer will make a return engagement as Barlow, but honestly Bean as Barlow would actually be fine to watch. He can be refined and distinguished on screen, and Bean would be keeping Barlow in line as being a mature gentleman.

As for Wilson as Mears? Look, I’m trying to get the bad taste of angsty Rob Lowe out of my mouth (thanks a bunch, TNT), and Wilson is ideal in that aspect. We’re not looking for Hollywood hunk here. Wilson is simple and he has a small-town vibe about him like Mears.

Next: The Shining