The Long Walk, Based on Stephen King's First Novel, with Mark Hamill, Hits Theaters This Fall
- Damian Ali
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Stephen King's first novel finally hits the big screen, with a cast that makes this chilling dystopian thriller feel all too real.
David Jonsson as McVries, Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, Jordan Gonzalez as Harkness, Ben Wang as Olson, and Tut Nyuot as Baker in The Long Walk (2025) Courtesy of Murray Close/Lionsgate
Some stories aren't just scary — they're unsettling because they ask the right questions. The task is simple: walk or die. The question is: how long could you last?
The Long Walk, based on the first novel Stephen King ever wrote, imagines a world where teenage boys must walk non-stop under the government's watch — or die trying. The idea alone is enough to rattle you, and if the trailer's any indication, The Long Walk might deliver one of the fall's most intense films
Lionsgate will release The Long Walk in theaters on September 12, 2025. Watch the official trailer below, and brace yourself. It might start off feeling like Stand by Me, but it doesn't look like it will end that way. This is much darker.
Director Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Songbirds & Snakes) brings his signature tension and visual control to a stripped-down setting. Gone are the arenas — this time, the battlefield is a single road, and the enemy is time, pain, and fatigue.
Award-winning horror legend Greg Nicotero returns with Guts & Glory, a new unscripted series where contestants face real-time scares and wild practical effects. Read more at TalkTeaV.
Mark Hamill as The Major and Judy Greer as Ginny Garraty in The Long Walk (2025) Courtesy of Murray Close-Lionsgate
It's a movie packed with rising stars like Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), Charlie Plummer, and Roman Griffin Davis — plus some serious surprises.
Mark Hamill looks completely transformed — bearded, hardened, and nothing like the iconic pop culture roles he's best known for. Judy Greer, too, steps into new territory. Often known for offbeat or emotionally light roles, from this first look image, she has a more somber, quietly haunting presence.
The cast also includes David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Ben Wang (American Born Chinese), Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, and Josh Hamilton, rounding out a lineup.
Filming took place across rural parts of Manitoba, Canada, including stretches near Garson, Poplar Point, and Birds Hill Provincial Park. The wide, empty landscapes helped create the stark and haunting atmosphere needed for a story where the road itself becomes the enemy.
Charlie Plummer as Barkovitch, Garrett Wareing as Stebbins, Cooper Hoffman as Garraty, David Jonsson as McVries, Ben Wang as Olson, Tut Nyuot as Baker, and Joshua Odjick as Parker in The Long Walk (2025) Courtesy of Murray Close/Lionsgate
Stephen King began writing The Long Walk while in college, making it the first novel he ever completed. While Carrie became his breakout hit, The Long Walk came years earlier, long before its eventual publication in 1979 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
A cult favorite among fans of King's darker, more dystopian work, The Long Walk stands apart from his supernatural classics but still showcases the creativity that defined his early years as a writer.
With its unsettling premise from a master storyteller, deeply human stakes, and a director known for turning page-turners into cinematic events, it's the kind of movie that has all the ingredients to become a cult favorite. Intense, emotional, and just nerve-wracking enough to stick with you permanently.
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