Fans gottheir first look yesterdayat director Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of theStephen KingnovelThe Long Walk, and today, we have the incredible first trailer for the film that’s set to release on July 20, 2025. Written by JT Mollner (Strange Darling), the dystopian thriller tells the tale of a group of teenage boys competing in an annual contest where they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot.
Starring the likes of Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill, the first trailer forThe Long Walk(seen below) is an unflinching and intense look at what we can expect come September. Set to the tune of Shaboozey’s “Last of My Kind,” we obviously catch several glimpses of the young cast as they trek along the highway, and see what happens to them when they slow to below 3 mph. “Walk until there’s only one of you left,” says Hamill’s character of The Major, who serves as the central antagonist of the movie. Check it out for yourself, and feast your eyes on what could be one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations ever made.
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Stephen King is one of the most prolific authors ever, these are the best adaptations of his many iconic stories.
In addition toThe Long Walk, several other King adaptations are set to release this year, including an updated version ofThe Running Manstarring Glen Powell, Mike Flanagan’sThe Life of Chuck, the MGM+ seriesThe Institute, andIt: Welcome to Derry, which isn’t a direct adaptation per se, but rather HBO’s prequel series to King’s massive tome that was first published in 1986. We’ve already been treated to one King movie this year by way of Osgood Perkins’The Monkey, which earned more than $68 million at the box office and was met with mostly positive reviews. So, needless to say, fans of his are definitely eating good in 2025 after a few lackluster years that saw more remakes ofFirestarterandChildren of the Corn.
Francis Lawrence Calls ‘The Long Walk’ An Unconventional Love Story
For anyone who’s readThe Long Walk, you know that at the heart of the story is the relationship between Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman) and Peter McVries (David Jonsson). While it’s definitely a game where every person has to eventually fend for themselves,the two develop a strong bondover the course of the walk that Lawrence kept front and center in his movie. “To me, that’s what the whole thing is about,” he told Vanity Fair, adding that he sees the adaptation as an unconventional love story between two friends:
“The whole thing is about the two of them bonding, and kind of falling in love in a weird way. The conflict of what they’re there for and what they’ve been through in the past only brings them closer together. The sacrifices they make for one another, to me, is the whole movie.”
For those that haven’t readThe Long Walkyet, we definitely recommend it before watching the film, as it stands on its own as one of King’s finest works. If reading isn’t your jam, you can check out Lawrence’s version when it hits theaters on Sept. 12, 2025, from Lionsgate.
Source:Lionsgate / YouTube
The Long Walk
