Mad Cop and Ancient Evil: Sam Raimi to Adapt Stephen King's "Desperation" - Media

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Searchlight Pictures is in talks with directing duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, known for the horror film "Final Destination: Bloodlines," to direct the film "Desperation," based on Stephen King's novel of the same name.

The screenplay for the adaptation is being written by Ryan Brennan, and the film will be produced by Sam Raimi, creator of "The Evil Dead" and the "Spider-Man" trilogy, through his company Ghost House Pictures. It is symbolic that King's enthusiastic review of "The Evil Dead" in the early 1980s helped the young Raimi attract the attention of distributors and break into mainstream cinema. However, since then, the authors have never collaborated on joint projects.

Stephen King released "Desperation" in 1996 simultaneously with the novel "The Regulators," published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. The books use the same characters but tell different stories in alternative versions of reality.

The action of "Desperation" unfolds in the Nevada desert. Several travelers find themselves in the hands of Collie Entragian, a giant police officer from the almost deserted mining town of Desperation. The lawman is possessed by an ancient entity named Tak, capable of controlling animals and moving from one human body to another. The captives must escape the town and prevent evil from breaking free.

This will not be the first adaptation of "Desperation" – in 2006, Touchstone Pictures released a full-length film starring Ron Perlman, which was broadcast on television, but the new project is being created for wide theatrical release. The start dates for filming and the premiere date of the new "Desperation" have not yet been announced.