According to new reports, Spider Man: Far From Home star Jake Gyllenhaal is set to appear in the latest remake of Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. King’s works have seen a recent surge, including the highly praised IT, the reworking of The Stand, a newly announced reboot of Christine and Lisey’s Story currently streaming on AppleTV+. There have been more than 50 adaptations of King’s work of which Salem’s Lot has already seen a TV movie and TV mini-series produced. With some notable exceptions, such as The Dark Tower, King’s recent work on screen has been not only prolific but profitable, and Salem’s Lot is likely to be another hit for the master of horror.
In 2019, New Line Cinema announced that they were preparing to adapt the second novel from Stephen King, which was originally released in 1975. With James Wan said to be producing, along with Gary Dauberman, who also will be on writing and directing duties it seems like they are onto a winner before a single scene has been shot. Reports that Gyllenhaal has been approached for the lead role of Ben Mears appeared on the Illuminderi.com today, claiming that an official offer has been made to the Brokeback Mountain actor to appear in the role played by David Soul in the 1979 movie and Rob Lowe in the 2004 mini-series.
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While any other casting news is still sparse, it is thought that the James Bond franchise’s latest Blofeld, Christopher Waltz, is heading the running to play the villainous Straker, a mysterious character who arrives in the small town of Jerusalem’s Lot with a dark cargo in tow. With his recent portrayal of Bond’s nemesis, Waltz certainly is able to pull of the kind of brooding menace required for the role, and would be an ideal candidate to take over from James Mason who first appeared in the role. As of yet, though, there is no word on whether Waltz has been approached by the studio.
Salem’s Lot is currently expected to begin filming sometime in the fall, and while no release date has currently been set, it would be expected that the final movie would arrive sometime towards the end of 2022 at the earliest. It remains to be seen whether Jake Gyllenhaal signs on the line, but the idea of what he could bring to the new version is an exciting prospect for fans of both the actor and the novel. Having impressive credentials to his name, we would be in for a riveting performance that would certainly outdo his predecessors in the Mears role. As well as his serious roles in Brokeback Mountain and Jarhead, he has also recently moved into the more fantastic with his Spider-Man: Far From Home appearance as Mysterio, and of course we can’t forget, or explain in most cases, his breakthrough role in Donnie Darko.
With a long way to go, it’s likely to be a while before we see any production details, additional casting, or any sight of what the film is actually going to look like. Fans of King, like myself, will be looking forward to more on this with eager anticipation if shooting gets underway as planned in September.
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