Years after its original release date, a new horror movie based on a Stephen King book will go straight to streaming

New horror movie Salem's Lot has finally been confirmed for a straight-to-streaming release in 2024, three years after it was filmed. 

Warner Bros. will now release the movie on Max (formerly known as HBO Max) sometime in 2024 – but just when, exactly, still remains to be seen. It's also unclear if or when the movie will be released in the UK and other countries where Max isn't available. 

The Stephen King adaptation was first announced in 2019 and filming took place in 2021, with plans to hit the big screen in September 2022. However, this was then pushed back to April 2023, before it lost its space in the release calendar entirely.

"Between you and me, Twitter, I've seen the new SALEM'S LOT and it's quite good," King tweeted last month, lamenting the film's absence from Warner Bros.' release slate. "Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build, big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it's embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the fucking things."

King's novel, first published in 1975, follows writer Ben Mears as he returns to the town he grew up in (Jersusalem's Lot, also known as… Salem's Lot) in an attempt to find inspiration, only to find that the residents are being turned into vampires. The movie will see Top Gun: Maverick's Lewis Pullman play Mears, alongside Gotham's Makenzie Leigh, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Spencer Treat Clark, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, and William Sadler. 

While we wait for Salem's Lot to arrive on Max, check out our guide to the other biggest upcoming horror movies on the way in 2024 and beyond.