The original Stephen King movie is a cult favorite but is Maximum Overdrive 2 a possibility? Long before making Maximum Overdrive, King's first novel Carrie made him a writing superstar, and it wasn't long until his work was being adapted by major studios. Despite adaptions being helmed by the likes of John Carpenter, David Cronenberg or Brian De Palma, most of them could never quite recapture what made the original novels special. Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is considered a peerless masterpiece now, but King has famously never been a fan of the movie himself.
King had many bones to pick with Kubrick's The Shining, including its deviations from his novel - which he considered one of his most personal - to Jack Nicholson's "miscasting" as Jack Torrance. His mixed feelings about some of these early adaptations may have been what pushed him into the director's seat for 1986's Maximum Overdrive. The film is based on his short story "Trucks," and follows a group trapped in a diner when a comet causes every machine on Earth, including cars, trucks and even lawnmowers, to become self-aware and go on a killing spree.
Maximum Overdrive received largely bad reviews and was a financial disappointment, and King never directed another movie. Still, despite its many, many flaws the film still has a cult following. With this in mind, could a Maximum Overdrive 2 ever happen?
Stephen King Has Disowned Maximum Overdrive
In Maximum Overdrive's memorable trailer, King himself introduces the movie and famously declared "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself!" in reference to previous adaptations. King set out to make a fun popcorn film, but he's since labeled it a "moron movie."
Stephen King - who also cameoed in the movie - had no experience directing prior to Maximum Overdrive and its his various addictions impacted the product. The movie's star Emilio Estevez also loathes the end result and claims King personally apologizes to him about Maximum Overdrive every time they come into . With this in mind, getting King behind Maximum Overdrive 2 is doubtful.
Joe Hill Is Interested In Maximum Overdrive 2
King's son Joe Hill is an acclaimed horror novelist too, and in a 2020 interview for Post Mortem With Mick Garris, he was asked about his directing ambitions. While he's not interesting a direct Maximum Overdrive sequel, Hill stated he'd love to helm a reboot of the concept. Instead of a comet, he feels the story should focus on modern, self-driving cars being taken over by a virus. While it sounds like he could certainly have fun with the premise, it was more of a tongue-in-cheek response.
Maximum Overdrive 2 Isn't Happening
Outside of Joe Hill mulling a Maximum Overdrive reboot, there's been no sign of Maximum Overdrive 2 happening. Outside of a TV movie remake titled Trucks from 1997, Maximum Overdrive has been lying dormant for decades. While in the last decade there's been a revival in interest in King adaptions like IT or Gerald's Game, Maximum Overdrive hasn't been mooted, likely due to the King movie's poor reputation. Even an STV Maximum Overdrive 2 feels unlikely, so King fans will have to make do with one movie.
