The new remake of Stephen King‘s novel Salem’s Lot casts Lewis Pullman as Ben Mears (the lead character), The Hollywood Reporter broke the news. Pullman is known for his roles in movies like The Strangers: Prey at Night and Bad Times at the El Royale.
This casting choice is a big step forward for the film, as it starts production in September. The new adaptation will be written and directed by Gary Dauberman, he also co-wrote both of the IT films and made his directorial debut with Annabelle Comes Home. The film will be produced by James Wan, Michael Clear, and Judson Scott from Atomic Monster. Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee, Andrew Childs, Mark Wolper, and Michael Bederman will also be working on the project.
Salem’s Lot tells the story of Ben Mears, a writer who is currently suffering from writer’s block. To get out of the rut and find some inspiration, he goes back to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot, which is in Maine. But when he reaches his hometown he notices that a mysterious man has been turning the residents of the town into blood-thirsty vampires. That’s when Ben decides to band together with a group of residents to stop the ancient evil from bringing catastrophe to their town.
The movie is based on a novel by Stephen King of the same name, the novel came out in 1975 and has been adapted multiple times like the most known adaptation of the book is its 1979 miniseries, which showed David Soul as Ben Mears. Rob Lowe also played the character of Ben Mears in miniseries which came out in 2004. BBC Radio 4 adapted the book into a radio drama in 1995, and it was consistently referenced in Castle Rock‘s both seasons.
There have been no cast announcements besides Pullman, but as soon as the film starts filming next month more announcements will be made. Salem’s Lot currently doesn’t have a release date.