Filmmaker Francis Lawrence knows a thing or two about gruelling dystopian dramas with kids forced into do-or-die situations – since he’s directed ev
Filmmaker Francis Lawrence knows a thing or two about gruelling dystopian dramas with kids forced into do-or-die situations – since he’s directed every Hunger Games sequel, plus The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes. And before he gets started on Sunrise On The Reaping, he’s breaking out of the Hunger Games saga with… well, a film that seems to have more than a bit of The Hunger Games about it. Stretch your legs for The Long Walk, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel (originally published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman), in which a group of teens venture off on – you guessed it – a long walk. If they can just keep going, riches await. But as soon as they stop, they die, and there can only be one victor. Watch the trailer:
It’s an intense premise, and Lawrence seems to have captured that, going by this first trailer. And he’s assembled an excellent cast here too. Mark Hamill is very much not Luke Skywalker as the Major, the military man overseeing the walk. In the firing lines are the likes of Licorice Pizza’s Cooper Hoffman, Alien Romulus MVP David Jonsson, novel Karate Kid Ben Wang, Jojo Rabbit’s Roman Griffin Davis, and All The Money In The World’s Charlie Plummer. As for Lawrence, he’s not the only exhilarating talent behind the camera – the script here comes from JT Mollner, the writer-director of last year’s cult favourite Strange Darling. All in all, it’s a stacked line-up of talent.
Who’ll make it over the line? Will Lawrence bring the character and craft he’s long displayed on The Hunger Games films? Will we ever see Mark Hamill in the same lithe again? We’ll find out when The Long Walk ambles into UK cinemas on 12 September.
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