Stephen King’s killer dog novel “Cujo” is finding new life with plans for a film adaptation headed to Netflix…
Netflix is ready to take another bite from a classic Stephen King novel.
The streamer is set to deliver a new adaptation of King’s 1981 book “Cujo” with Roy Lee — best known for working on films such as “Companion,” “Barbarian” and “Strange Darling” — set to produce the film. The project is now being pitched to writers to work on the script for the film.
The 1981 book was initially adapted into a film released in 1983 that starred Dee Wallace as a mother desperate to protect her young son after they get trapped in their broken down car while being stalked and hunted by Cujo — their once friendly 200-pound Saint Bernard, who has turned vicious after being bitten by a rabid bat. Cujo’s reign of terror includes the dog mauling and killing several people while trying to get at the mother and son trapped in a car that’s rapidly getting hotter by the second.
The film largely received positive reviews and made more than $21 million at the box office on just a $6 million budget.
Now Netflix looks to adapt “Cujo” all over again while mining King’s vast library, which has been turned into films and TV series ever since the 1970s.
Most recently, King’s short story “The Monkey” was adapted into a feature length film by Osgood Perkins and one of his non-horror short stories serves as the basis for Mike Flanagan’s next film “The Life of Chuck,” which is due out later this year. Director Edgar Wright is also adapting another of King’s books “The Running Man” into a feature length film after that was previously adapted into a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger back in 1987.
With Netflix on board and Lee producing, it’s expected that once a writer is chosen to adapt the book into a screenplay, a director search will begin.
H/T: Deadline
