Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot’ movie to skip theaters, go straight to streaming on Max

The mystery of Stephen King’s “Salem’s Lot” movie adaptation has been (mostly) solved.

After King tweeted his confusion and frustration about the unknown fate of “Salem’s Lot” in February, Warner Bros. Discovery announced Tuesday that the film would bypass theaters and debut directly on its Max streaming platform sometime in 2024.

Produced by WBD subsidiary New Line Cinema, “Salem’s Lot” follows author Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman), who returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot, Maine in search of material for his upcoming novel. Instead, Ben finds that the town is being transformed by a bloodthirsty vampire.

Along with Pullman, the “Salem’s Lot” movie co-stars Pilou Asbæk (“Game of Thrones”), Alfre Woodard (“12 Years A Slave”), Makenzie Leigh (“The Assistant”), Spencer Treat Clark (“Mystic River”), John Benjamin Hickey (“Pitch Perfect”) and Massachusetts native Bill Camp (“Joker”).

King’s second published novel following 1974’s “Carrie,” “Salem’s Lot” was previously adapted for the small screen twice, with miniseries released in 1979 and 2004.

Over the years, King has consistently cited the vampire thriller as his personal favorite among all of his published stories, which explains last month’s online frustration.

“Between you and me, Twitter, I’ve seen the new SALEM’S LOT and it’s quite good,” King tweeted Feb. 19. “Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it’s embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the f****** things.”

“Salem’s Lot” movie release date timeline

The 2024 “Salem’s Lot” movie was filmed in Boston, Clinton, Ipswich, Princeton, and Sterling from September to December 2021, with post-production continuing into early 2022.

Once director Gary Dauberman (“Annabelle”) finished post-production, the horror film faced numerous delays and shifting release dates.

After initially announcing that “Salem’s Lot” would hit theaters September 2022, Warner Bros. pushed the film to April 2023. The company later said the film would be released directly on its Max streaming service, then removed the movie from its release schedule entirely.

King, who co-wrote the “Salem’s Lot” film adaptation along with Dauberman, sang the film’s praises on social media back in November, calling it “muscular and involving” and saying that the film has an “Old Hollywood” feel.

Kevin Slane

Staff Writer

Kevin Slane is a staff writer for Boston.com covering entertainment and culture. His work focuses on movie reviews, streaming guides, celebrities, and things to do in Boston.

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