There’s more freedom to do stuff now and when
you do a movie from a book, there’s this thing
that I call the sitting on a suitcase syndrome.
That is where you try to pack in all the clothes at
once and the suitcase won’t close. So it’s tough
to take a book that is fully textured, and do it in
two hours and 10 minutes. But as a TV show you
have 10 hours.”
Luckily for us, Apple announced in 2019 that
it had acquired the rights to the novel and
an adaptation was officially in the works. The
adaptation received an eight-episode order with
King serving as the writer and J.J. Abrams as the
producer. Knowing how most adaptations of
King’s works were quite successful, especially the
TV shows (Castle Rock, Rose Red, Mr. Mercedes),
we are quite certain that this combination is
going to be a hit for Apple.
J.J. Abrams is one of the most sought-after names
in modern Hollywood. He is a director, a writer
and a producer. His production credits – since that
is what’s relevant here – include two Star Trek and
two Star Wars movies, four Mission: Impossible
movies and a number of TV shows that include
popular titles such as Fringe, Lovecraft Country
and Westworld. Lisey’s Story is also not going to
be Abrams’ first experience with King’s works,
as he has already served as the producer on the
miniseries 11.22.63. starring James Franco.
Not much has been revealed about the show
as of yet, but we know some important details
about the cast. The titular role of Lisey Landon
was given to Oscar-winner Julianne Moore; this
is the second time that Moore is working on a
King adaptation, since she portrayed Margaret
White, the titular character’s mother in the 2013
adaptation of Carrie.