Lionsgate
Following the with the first shots a trailer for the movie «Long Walk» has also appeared — an adaptation of the 1979 Stephen King novel of the same name by «The Hunger Games» director Francis Lawrence.
The story is set in a dystopian America, where the main entertainment is an event called the «Long Walk», involving 100 teenage boys, which is broadcast on television. The participants have to walk continuously along route 1, and if they are warned three times for walking too slowly, they will be shot. Whoever survives and reaches the finish line will receive a large sum of money and a «prize» of their choice.
«The Long Walk» is mostly presented through the eyes of 16-year-old Raymond Garrity (Cooper Hoffman), exploring his deteriorating physical and mental state. The rest of the cast includes Ben Wan, Judy Greer, Garrett Wearing, Roman Griffin Davis, Charlie Plummer, and David Johnsson. Mark Hamill appears as the antagonist — a psychopathic major who terrorizes the marchers and can erase from your memory the kindness and virtue of Luke Skywalker.
The trailer begins innocently enough: against the backdrop of nature and the sound of a guitar, we are shown a group of guys sitting in a circle introducing themselves. Then they begin their march, cheerfully tossing a ball along the way and sometimes joking, but a few seconds later we see a soldier killing one of the participants after his leg gives out. From that moment on, all hell breaks loose, and the seriousness of the «competition» becomes crystal clear.
Hollywood has been trying to film the story for 40 years: in 1988, George A. Romero received an offer; in 2007, the film rights were transferred to Frank Darabont, director of «Escape from Shawshank Redemption»; and one of the last attempts was made by Andre Ovredal («Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark»). In the end, only Francis Lawrence, who, in addition to «The Hunger Games», has worked on the post-apocalyptic horror film «I Am Legend» and the thriller «Constantine: Lord of Darkness».
Lawrence himself calls the novel almost his favorite literary creation of Stephen King, and earlier in an interview with Collider claimed, who has had chances to film the story since the 2000s.
«This is something that was actually on my desk many years ago, shortly after I finished Konstantin, as I was working on I Am Legend. I really wanted to make it, but Frank Darabont actually took over the rights. People tried to do it for many years, but they never managed. We just kind of figured it out; I worked with J.T. Mollner, he wrote a great draft. I had that time, and we picked the right season to shoot, and we got an amazing cast. I’m very happy with the result».
The world premiere of «Long Walk» is scheduled for September 12.