New Stephen King Horror Movie Gets 2025 Release Window, Cast & Director Revealed

Summary

• The Monkey
  , based on a Stephen King short story, will be released theatrically in 2025.
• Expectations are high for
  The Monkey
  to be a successful box office hit, despite recent inconsistencies with adaptations of King’s works.
• The film stars Theo James, promising to continue his current career boom after roles in
  The Gentlemen
  and
  White Lotus
  .

The Monkey, starring Theo James, has been given its 2025 release window. The Monkey is a short story written by Stephen King that was initially published in 1980, as part of a booklet in Gallery Magazine, then revised and included in his Skeleton Crew collection of short stories. The plot follows two brothers who find a cursed cymbal-banging toy monkey in the attic of their great-uncle’s home, only to discover that every time it bangs its cymbals someone close to them dies.

According to reports in Deadline, the movie adaptation of the story will be released theatrically in 2025, and is set to be written and directed by Osgood Perkins. It will be produced by Saw director James Wan, alongside Michael Clear, through his production company Atomic Monster. Other production companies involved in the project reportedly include C2 Motion Picture Group, Range Select, and Odd Fellows, with Nancy Xu and John Friedman of Black Bear among the executive producers. In addition to James, The Monkey‘s cast includes Elijah Wood and Tatiana Maslany.

Can The Monkey Mark A Return To Box Office Success For King?

The Author’s Recent Adaptations Have Experienced Inconsistent Box Office Performances

Most of King’s most revered adaptations have had tepid box office performances, before garnering critical acclaim years later. In recent times, adaptations of King’s books have experienced mixed box office performances, with 2023’s The Boogeyman and 2019’s Pet Sematary enjoying successful runs, whereas movies like Doctor Sleep, Firestarter, and the most recent Children of the Corn adaptation posting disappointing box office numbers. Whether King might have any involvement in The Monkey adaptation remains to be seen, but hopes are high that the film will prove to be a success.

The movie shares similarities with The X-Files episode “Chinga”, which was penned by King, and if he can be involved in any capacity, a faithful and strong adaptation is likely to happen. However, there have been plenty of successful big (and small) screen adaptations of his work in which he has had no involvement. Neon clearly have high hopes for the movie as they won a bidding war for the domestic rights to the film, and they will be hoping that The Monkey can enjoy a strong 2025 box officerun.

James is also enjoying a career boom at the moment, with the Brit fresh off the back of starring in the TV show adaptation of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen and a prominent role in season 2 of The White Lotus. The Monkey will mark his first foray into traditional horror, and could become one of James’ best-rated movies and TV shows, kickstarting a successful career in the horror genre. There is every chance The Monkey could become one of the more successful of King’s adaptations, and the creative team involved should fill audiences with hope of a successful movie.

Source: Deadline