Coyote vs. Acme isn’t the only movie Warner Bros. is keeping on a shelf for reasons only David Zaslav and his tax professional understand. Salem’s Lot, based on the classic Stephen King novel of the same name, is also being kept from audiences, and not even King knows why.
Over on X/Twitter, Stephen King reminded his followers that a new movie based on Salem’s Lot not only exists, but is also finished and ready to be released. And, like Coyote vs. Acme, it’s apparently good! “Quite good,” in fact, according to King, who says he’s “Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it’s embarrassing, or anything”—okay, Stephen King, “not like it’s embarrassing” isn’t exactly a major selling point, but I take your meaning.
According to Variety, the new adaptation of Salem’s Lot was filmed in 2021 and set for release in 2022 before WB yanked it for reasons unknown. The film was directed by Gary Dauberman, who also helmed Annabelle Comes Home and wrote both It movies—all for Warner Bros.
Based on King’s 1975 novel, Salem’s Lot follows an author who returns to his small Maine hometown, which is being overrun by vampires. The story inspired a couple of TV miniseries adaptations—first on CBS in 1979, followed by a forgettable (and forgotten) 2008 series on TNT. A prequel series based on King’s original short story, Jerusalem’s Lot, was canceled after one season on Epix.
When the WGA and SAG-AFTRA went on strike last year, Warner Bros. considered releasing Salem’s Lot directly to Max. At the time, King wrote on Twitter that Salem’s Lot “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.”
The new Salem’s Lot stars Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, William Sadler (!), Pilou Asbæk, Makenzie Leigh, John Benjamin Hickey, and Spencer Treat Clark—an absolute murderer’s row of character actors.
If Coyote vs. Acme gets its day in court, maybe we’ll get a chance to see it and Salem’s Lot—and whatever else Warner Bros. is hiding from us—after all.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Television)
