UPDATE: Here’s the first trailer.
EARLIER: Back in March, I had written about the unknown future of “Salem’s Lot” and the piece gained some traction, to the point where a Warner Bros. spokesperson put out a statement, saying that “no decision” had been made regarding the film’s future.
No decision? It’s been four years since production wrapped on this one …
Stephen King himself had previously shared his mostly positive take on the film, describing the film’s status as “shelved.” He’s been very vocal in vouching for the film to get released, adding that Warners didn’t know what to do with it.
Well, we finally know its fate. After initially being expected to hit theaters, “Salem’s Lot” is finally going to debut on Warner’s streaming platform Max in October 2024.
“Salem’s Lot”, which was written and directed by Gary Dauberman, and stars Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, Alfre Woodard, completed production in November 2021. It then had some reshoots in the Spring of 2022. Its release date kept getting delayed — it went from a September 9, 2022 launch to April 21, 2023 and then it disappeared off the Warner Bros calendar.
The test screenings for the 113-minute King adaptation went fairly well. It does sound as though “Salem’s Lot” prefers jump scares over character development, but those kinds of films tend to do good business these days at the box-office. When compared to previously axed WB projects (“Coyote vs Acme” and “Batgirl”) at least there was an audience for Dauberman’s film.
Dauberman’s directorial debut was 2019’s “Annabelle Comes Home.” He also wrote both “It” movies for WB, as well as “The Nun,” “Annabelle,” and “Annabelle: Creation.”
Vanity Fair also has some first look images.
