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Another day, another Stephen King adaptation enters development. Yay!
Killer car story Christine is getting a fresh adaptation courtesy of Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller. Fuller will write and direct the movie for Blumhouse and Sony Pictures, with Jason Blum producing alongside Splice director Vincenzo Natali and Come True producer Steve Hoban. Christine will be Fuller's directorial debut, having served as creator and writer on shows such as Hannibal, Pushing Daisies, American Gods, and Wonderfalls.
First published in 1983, Christine tells the story of Arnie Cunningham, a self-confessed geek who grows in confidence as he starts work fixing up an old rustbucket. The car, a 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine, takes a shine to Arnie. An obsessive, murderous shine, if you will, resulting in a spot of vehicular homicide.
Fuller's intention, according to Deadline's report, "is to keep it in an ’80s time period and grounded in King’s bestseller." It's not the biggest surprise, really. Sony and Blumhouse will no doubt want to ride the coattails of It, Stranger Things, and Ghostbusters to score some of that sweet '80s nostalgia box office.
Keeping it grounded in King's bestseller could point to Fuller making decisions John Carpenter, who directed the 1983 adaptation, did not. One of Carpenter's biggest regrets about the adaptation is changing Christie's evil origin; in the tome, the previous owner Roland LeBay haunts the car, his rotting corpse appearing in the back seat, urging Arnie to kill. In the movie, Christine is simply born bad. That ghost would certainly fit with Fuller's unique genre visuals, as displayed in Hannibal's horrific tableaus.
Whatever changes he makes, Fuller's enthusiasm for the material elevates this to a King adaptation with serious potential. Need proof? His recent appearance on a popular podcast, where he spent the best part of 90 minutes discussing Christine the novel and its adaptation in great detail. Back in December 2020, he stopped by The Kingcast and dove into an in-depth queer reading of the story, some elements of which may hopefully transition to his screenplay.
While we don't know when Christine will hit theaters, in the meantime you can catch up on our ranking of the best Stephen King movies.
