Yahoo Movies Stephen King's Firestarter remake: All you need to know
She's a firestarter, a twisted firestarter! Good luck getting that earworm out of your head now we've planted it but you have to admit it's the perfect song to play in the remake of Stephen King's Firestarter.
Adapted from King's 1980 novel of the same name, there has already been an '80s-tastic version of this story, with Drew Barrymore playing the little girl who can set things on fire just by looking at them.
That film was ultimately seen as a failure – King himself described it as one of the worst adaptations of his work, calling it, "flavourless, like cafeteria mashed potatoes". Ouch!
Expectations might have been understandably low for the remake based on that assessment. But with the team behind the Oscar-nominated horror Get Out now on board, this adaptation just caught fire.
Here's everything you need to know about the remake of Stephen King's Firestarter...
Firestarter release date: when's it coming?
We don't have a firm release date yet. But with a director and writer in place and a production team raring to go, expect this to find its place on the film schedules either late in 2019 or at some point in 2020.
Firestarter plot – will it be faithful to the 1980 novel?
The text-heavy poster for the original 1984 film reused the voiceover from the trailer and pretty much told you everything you need to know about the plot:
"Charlie McGee is a happy, healthy eight-year-old little girl. Normal in every way but one. She has the power to set objects afire with just one glance. It's a power she does not want. It's a power she can't control. And, each night, Charlie prays to be just like every other child. But there are those who will do everything in their power to find her, control her... or destroy her. Charlie McGee is Stephen King's Firestarter. Will she have the power... to survive?"
Born to psychic parents, Charlie's a target for a shady government agency that wants to harness her powers. Expect lots of LOLs as reviewers who weren't born in the '80s suggest it rips off the character of Eleven from Stranger Things.
Recent King adaptation It felt free to take some liberties with its source material, so Firestarter may do the same. We don't expect to see too many Kingverse nods, either (sorry fans of Maturin the turtle).
Firestarter cast – will there be a role for Drew Barrymore?
There's been no word on potential cast members yet, so we're free to indulge in a little dream casting.
First up, the obvious: a young Drew Barrymore starred as the girl with pyrokinetic powers in the first adaptation. Can she set the box office alight again and come back to play Charlie's mum Victoria McGee, taking up where Heather Locklear left off?
For the title role, we'd also love to see Madison Wolfe burning up the screen as Charlie. Her turn in graphic novel adaptation I Kill Giants was exceptional and she'd definitely help bring this character to life and make this adaptation avoid another "mashed potatoes" description by King.
Firestarter production – when is it set to start?
Universal has been developing Firestarter for some time and with King's properties hot following the success of It, they've pushed to get this film into production.
With the producers of last year's excellent horror breakout Get Out on board, we're confident this film is in good hands. Jason Blum's company Blumhouse is responsible for hit horror franchises such as Paranormal Activity, The Purge, the Insidious/Sinister universe and M Night Shyamalan's Split.
Blum will be producing alongside Akiva Goldsman, while Martha de Laurentiis (who worked on the original Firestarter) is on board as an exec producer.
Firestarter soundtrack– will there be a similarly trippy sound?
Aside from the Prodigy track 'Firestarter', which we'll happily campaign to get into this film, there's no word yet on who'll be providing the soundtrack.
Synth pop legends Tangerine Dream are – amazingly – still around, albeit under a different line-up from that which created the original Firestarter soundtrack.
Firestarter trailer - when can we see it?
There's no footage to, ahem, light up the screen yet. But the plot-heavy trailer for the 1984 film shows us what this story was capable of in the '80s. Here's hoping the remake brings it bang up to date.
Firestarter director – who's directing and writing the script?
Amazingly, the first time around we almost got John Carpenter's Firestarter: Universal offered him the gig while he was shooting The Thing but swapped him out for Mark L Lester when that alien body horror didn't do the numbers at the box office.
This time around, King's sci-fi thriller has already found a director and writer. Fatih Akin (Into The Fade) will helm the adaptation, working from a script by Scott Teems (Rectify).
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account.
You Might Also Like
