‘Salem’s Lot’: First Images And Release Date Finally Revealed For New Stephen King Movie

Josh Korngut |

Aug 20, 2024

'Salem's Lot — Photo by Justin Lubin, Courtesy of Vanity Fair

Well, this is a relief. The big-budget movie adaptation of Stephen King’s classic, nightmare-inducing vampire novel has finally been given an official first look via Vanity Fair. The Gary Dauberman-directed update of ‘Salem’s Lot has been languishing on shelves for years now, with some fans concerned that Warner Bros. Discovery would toss the title in the bin alongside Batgirl and Acme Vs Coyote.

While the specific release date is still unclear, we now know that the title will exclusively drop onto HBO’s Max this October. Rumours indicating this news has been circulating for some time, but it’s good to finally have confirmation from the source.

Stephen King saw the reboot for himself last November and quickly went online to share that he thought Dauberman’s film was “muscular and involving.” King also said the film looked like it could have been crafted by John Carpenter in his prime. If he’s right, we definitely have something to look forward to this fall. You can check out all of his reaction tweets down below.

Bite into the first look of ‘Salem’s Lot’ here:

‘Salem’s Lot,’ based on the 1975 novel, the film follows author Ben Mears who returns to his small town in search of inspiration for his next book—and instead finds his fellow residents are being picked off one-by-one.

Take an early look at the film: https://t.co/Gf5BMW7eLQ pic.twitter.com/Ny8aq8irac
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) August 20, 2024

Max is really fumbling the bag after what Evil Dead Rise and Alien Romulus proved at the box office. Salems Lot deserves to be on the big screen. pic.twitter.com/siHcycor04
— Luis (@heyitsluiss) August 20, 2024

First Look at Lewis Pullman as Ben Mears in 'Salem's Lot'

The new adaptation of @StephenKing 's vampire tale, 'Salem’s Lot' will debut on Max this October, smack in the midst of spooky season! ?‍♂️?

? https://t.co/iBhUbzPmUo pic.twitter.com/zTAH6sUHN1
— james (@L_james_P_) August 20, 2024

We finally get our first look at the new Salem’s Lot remake! It’s supposed to debut on Max in October. #StreamOnMax #StephenKing #SalemsLot #HorrorMovies #Vampires pic.twitter.com/SNOPKwoeFW
— ? Duke of Dorks ? (@rayfundora) August 20, 2024

‘Salem’s Lot was first published in 1975 and became Stephen King’s first #1 bestseller in The New York Times. The novel became an immediate classic and quickly spawned the 1979 TV miniseries adaptation from Tobe Hooper.

The creative team behind the new ‘Salem’s Lot is a who’s-who of the spooky mainstream. It is directed by Gary Dauberman, the writer behind It: Chapter Two and the Annabelle series. You’ve also got James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring) producing alongside Mark Wolper and Roy Lee. Lee has the honor of producing IT, currently the highest-grossing horror movie ever made.

Stephen King’s thoughts on ‘Salem’s Lot’ 2024:

The Warner Bros remake of SALEM'S LOT, currently shelved, is muscular and involving. It has the feel of "Old Hollywood," when a film was given a chance to draw a breath before getting to business. When attention spans were longer, in other words.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 1, 2023

It feels like a horror movie version of slow-burn movies like THE GREAT ESCAPE. It builds very well. There are diversions from the book I don't agree with, but on the whole, faithful.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 1, 2023

Best scene: Danny Glick in the hospital, trying to claw down a blood bag.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 1, 2023

The Glick scene could have been directed by John Carpenter in his prime.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 1, 2023

Lastly, how do you feel about this new version of ‘Salem’s Lot? Are you excited to see what Dauberman and friends are cooking up? Let me know on Twitter via @joshkorngut. I’m always down to talk about all things Stephen King!

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