‘Salem’s Lot’ Skipping Theaters, Heading Straight to Streaming

Stephen King fans hoping to see the new Salem’s Lot film on a big screen better hope they own a large television. The movie, which was first announced way back in 2019 and has remained unreleased until now, is going to bypass theaters entirely and go straight to streaming.

King’s seminal vampire book has been adapted once before, as a television miniseries in the late 1970s. Years later there was also a sequel, A Return to Salem’s Lot, with only loose connections to the original. In the 2000s there was a new TV adaptation, that one starring Rob Lowe.

This was supposed to be the first full-fledged theatrical feature adaptation of King’s novel — only now, New Line has announced, they are putting the film out on Max instead.

The film was written and directed by Gary Dauberman, who was the writer of the acclaimed two-part adaptation of Stephen King’s It. In fact, the project was first begun amidst the hubbub around It and It: Chapter Two; Dauberman shot the film in 2021. Despite Dauberman’s connection to a hugely successful King franchise, Salem’s Lot has sat on the shelf since then.

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The cast includes Lewis Pullman in the lead role, along with Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, and Bill Camp.

Here is the new Salem’s Lot’s official synopsis:

Author Ben Mears returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.

While Max has yet to give an exact date, they said that the new Salem’s Lot will premiere some time in 2024.