Stephen King Reveals Shocking Truth Behind Spielberg’s Failed ‘The Talisman’ Adaptation!

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Stephen King, the renowned horror writer known for novels such as ‘Pet Sematary’, ‘The Shining’, and ‘It’, has explained the fate of the long-awaited adaptation of his book ‘The Talisman’, which Steven Spielberg had been keen on for a while. Although it’s been quite some time since then, King attributes the project’s delays to his own struggles with substance abuse and Spielberg’s high profile in the 1980s.

In collaboration with Stephen King, Peter Straub authored “The Talisman” and it was first published in the year 1984. To this day, it remains one of the select few bestselling novels by King that haven’t been translated for either the big or small screen. During the 1980s, there were discussions about Steven Spielberg adapting this fantasy novel for the big screen, but unfortunately, these conversations didn’t lead to any tangible outcomes.

According to ScreenRant’s latest report, King recently appeared on his own podcast, the Kingcast. During this conversation, he spoke about the power struggles he experienced in the past. With the passage of time, the author can still vividly recall why that particular project was never realized due to these difficulties.

I’m not familiar with “The Talisman”. To be honest, I’ve never really pondered it, especially in the context of movies. Over the past four decades, Steven Spielberg has mentioned it, but discussions with Sid Sheinberg, in a sense, were challenging and often argumentative.

At that time, I was consuming alcohol excessively and using drugs a lot. He strongly emphasized his intention to look after Steven and not burden him unnecessarily. I responded by pointing out that we were adults, and he should perhaps let us handle our own affairs. I suggested that he step back and give us the freedom to manage ourselves. However, things never went as planned.

As a cinephile recounting my experiences, I must acknowledge the pivotal role Sidney Sheinberg, then-president of Universal Pictures, played in launching Steven Spielberg’s illustrious career. Discovering his short film Amblin and recognizing the potential within this young, budding talent, he essentially provided a platform for Spielberg’s success. Although our conversations didn’t bear fruit initially, the project miraculously found new life. The latest update I’ve received indicates that The Talisman is being developed as a Netflix television series, with the talented Duffer Brothers, masterminds behind Stranger Things, collaborating with Amblin Television to bring this vision to life on the small screen.

Stephen King is Also Working on ‘The Talisman 3’

In the original fantasy novel, we journey with a character named Jack Sawyer into a magical world to retrieve a talisman that can save his mother’s life. The sequel, titled “Black House,” published in 2001 and also became a bestseller, continues the story of grown-up Jack using his detective abilities to solve a string of murders while uncovering memories connected to past events.

As a dedicated movie enthusiast, I must share some exciting news about the “The Talisman” book series. Despite the unfortunate passing of Peter Straub in 2022, Stephen King is still determined to carry on with the project. According to a report from Bloody Disgusting’s podcast episode, King himself mentioned that he’s currently engrossed in crafting a third installment, all while preserving Straub’s remarkable legacy.

When working on ‘Talisman 3,’ I’ve been adopting the writing style of Straub quite extensively. Instead of simply walking into a room, I prefer to describe people as bustling in, which is a term he often uses and gives his work a unique flavor. I aim to incorporate this style as much as possible.

I’m incorporating a fundamental concept from Peter’s work, merging elements from ‘The Dark Tower’ and ‘The Talisman’. This piece is heavily influenced by ‘The Talisman’ and its sequel ‘Black House’, featuring some of the characters originally found in both books.

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2025-01-31 22:02