Elijah Wood, Theo James's 'The Monkey' completes filming
Ready for spooky season? The live-action adaptation of Stephen King's short story The Monkey has officially concluded filming. The project, first announced in May 2023, is the brainchild of Osgood Perkins, known for his work on Longlegs. Renowned producer James Wan is also associated with this venture. The cast includes notable Hollywood actors such as Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Rohan Campbell, and Sarah Levy.
Plot and cast details of 'The Monkey' revealed
In the film adaptation of The Monkey, twin siblings Hal and Bill, played by James as adults and Convery in their youth, discover their father's old monkey toy in the attic. This discovery triggers a series of terrifying deaths. The roles of other cast members including Maslany, Wood, O'Brien, Campbell, and Levy are yet to be disclosed, but the makers have certainly pulled off a casting coup. The release date is not yet out.
Origin and original narrative of 'The Monkey'
The Monkey first appeared in Gallery magazine in 1980 and was later included in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew. "Hal didn't know where it had come from, but every time the moth-eaten monkey with the strange yellow eyes clashed his cymbals, jang, jang, jang...somebody died," reads the description on Goodreads. It was nominated for a British Fantasy Award for best short story in 1982.
King influenced Wan as a child, leading to this project
Wan, expressing his enthusiasm about the project, said, "Stephen King is the godfather of the horror genre. He had a huge influence on me as a child and throughout my career and it's always been a dream to help bring one of his stories to life." "The Monkey is a personal favorite, with its simple, iconic, and incredibly marketable conceit. And I can't imagine anyone better than a visionary and lifelong genre fan like Osgood to bring this to life."
Other notable adaptations of 'King of Horror's works
The Monkey has now joined the illustrious ranks of several projects that derive their inspiration from King's eclectic body of work. These include Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), The Dead Zone (1983), Stand By Me (1986), Graveyard Shift (1990), Misery (1990), Gerald's Game (2017), In the Tall Grass (2019), Doctor Sleep (2019), Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), It (2017), and It Chapter Two (2019).
