The Stephen King fervour of recent years is set to continue with the announcement that his short story The Monkey will receive an adaption with horror heavyweights James Wan and Osgood Perkins at the helm.
The Monkey first saw publication in the November 1980 issue of Gallery Magazine, but found its widest audience when it was included in the 1985 King anthology Skeleton Crew, alongside tales such as The Mist and The Raft. The tale details two brothers discovering their father’s wind-up, cymbal-crashing monkey. Upon discovering the toy, death seems to haunt their lives and they vow to get rid of the seemingly harmless monkey. As adults they are forced to confront their childhood fear as both the monkey and the chain of deaths return.
The Monkey is set to star White Lotus actor Theo James and the film will be produced in a joint venture between Wan’s Atomic Monster label and C2 Motion Picture Group of Joker. In a statement confirming the project, Wan said the following:
“Stephen King is the godfather of the horror genre. He had a huge influence on me as a child and throughout my career and it’s always been a dream to help bring one of his stories to life. The Monkey is a personal favorite, with its simple, iconic, and incredibly marketable conceit. And I can’t imagine anyone better than a visionary and lifelong genre fan like Osgood to bring this to life.”
We will bring you any further developments on this exciting sounding project just as soon as they come in.
