Zac Efron takes center stage in Blumhouse’s trailer for upcoming Firestarter remake

Another Blumhouse remake is on the way, this one based on Stephen King‘s popular novel Firestarter, about a young girl with pyrotechnic abilities that might just want to watch the world burn. One of the more interesting casting surprises in this movie is Zac Efron, who has started to branch out into genre fare in the last few years. From playing Ted Bundy in Netflix’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile to a desperate man who finds untold treasures in the upcoming survival thriller Gold, it’s exciting to see Efron show off his range as an actor.

Based on the 1980 novel of the same name, Firestarter is the second adaptation we’ve seen after the 1984 film that starred Drew Barrymore and David Keith. The first official trailer for the 2022 film looks like it is taking a slightly different angle to the source material.

The new film sees Efron playing the role of Andy, Sydney Lemmon as Vicki and Ryan Kiera Armstrong of American Horror Story: Double Feature fame will lead the story as the 11-year-old Charlie. Based on the trailer for the film, Charlie appears a lot more morally conflicted than what we saw in the novel and the 1984 film.

At several points in the trailer, Charlie shows a willingness to hurt people if it means protecting her family, and maybe just because she likes it. I couldn’t help wondering which writer was eager enough to write the line: “liar, liar, pants on fire.”

Andy will do his best to protect his daughter as her powers become increasingly out of control and attract the attention of a secret government agency.

Firestarter trailer

Watch the official trailer for the movie right here:

Firestarter release date

Firestarter will get a simultaneous release in movie theaters and on streaming. You’ll be able to watch the movie in cinemas or on Peacock starting on May 13, 2022.