Netflix is preparing to make another Stephen King adaptation! According to a new Deadline exclusive, the streamer has finalized a deal to adapt King's novel Cujo into a new feature film with Roy Lee set to produce.
Lee is a well-known horror movie producer, having produced hit movies like Barbarian, Strange Darling, Companion, The Ring, and more. He's also producing the upcoming films Weapons and Until Dawn. But most notably, Lee has produced multiple King projects such as Doctor Sleep, Salem's Lot, It, It: Chapter Two, and The Stand. And Netflix has released a few adaptations, too, between Gerald's Game, 1922, and In the Tall Grass, so Lee and Netflix working together makes a lot of sense.
First published in 1981, Cujo is King's novel about a once sweet Saint Bernard who gets bit by a bat and turns rabid. From there, the massive animal goes on a rampage, killing multiple people throughout the book. Cujo was first adapted into a movie in 1983. Dee Wallace delivered a particularly memorable role in the film as Donna Trenton.
Who could forget the incredibly tense scene where she's trapped in a car with her son as Cujo attempts to break inside the vehicle? It'll be hard for Netflix to top that. And although the first adaptation received mixed reviews from critics, it has garnered a cult following in the decades since.
King is showing no signs of slowing down in his career as his next novel Never Flinch is coming out on May 27 and many of his books have adaptations in the works.
Later this year, Mike Flanagan's adaptation of The Life of Chuck is expected to release in theaters and HBO will debut the It prequel series Welcome to Derry. Flanagan is also developing a Carrie television show and The Dark Tower for Amazon. Most recently, Osgood Perkins' directed the horror comedy film The Monkey, which adapted King's short story of the same name. The Long Walk is also in development from The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence.