Dozens and dozens of Stephen King movie and TV adaptations exist, but there's still quite a few more King books left to adapt for the screen. It can sometimes feel like every King story under the sun has been or will soon be turned into a movie or TV show, as the general success of King-based properties spurs on Hollywood to adapt more and more of them in the pursuit of a hit the size of Doctor Sleep-esque financial flop.
Yet, there are more King books that have yet to be adapted than most casual fans probably realize, as the author is so prolific that he's already written over 60 novels and literally hundreds of short stories. While King is now 72-years-old, he shows no signs of slowing down much, releasing two novels in 2018, another in 2019, and just recently, the 2020 collection of four novellas called If It Bleeds. He's also currently working on a novel planned to release in 2021, which he recently changed the 2020 setting of to 2019 due to Coronavirus.
Without any further ado, here are all the Stephen King books that have yet to either be adapted into a movie or TV show, or have an adaptation announced as in the works. For the sake of keeping things manageable, this list only covers King's novels, as the author has an absolutely massive amount of short stories that haven't been adapted yet.
Rage (1977)
It's not surprising that Rage, published under King's old pen name Richard Bachman, hasn't been adapted. The story centers on Charlie Decker, a violent high school student who grabs a gun and takes a classroom hostage, shooting teachers along the way. Enough real-life school shootings have seemingly been inspired by Rage that King himself had it taken out of print in the 1990s.
Insomnia (1994)
While a movie adaptation of Insomnia has been teased a couple times, nothing concrete has ever happened with the potential project. Insomnia is a mix of horror and fantasy set in the familiar location of Derry, Maine from IT, although Pennywise and the Losers' Club aren't the focus this time. The story centers on a retired man named Ralph Roberts, whose sleeping habits get worse and worse, leading him to stumble on events of cosmic proportions.
Rose Madder (1995)
Like Insomnia, a movie adaptation of Rose Madder has been teased, but the project never ended up making progress. Rose Madder centers on Rosie Daniels, an abused wife who finally escapes her long-term hellish marriage. She heads to a new town to try and build a new life, but her past catches up with her in the form of her husband Norman, determined to reclaim his bride.
The Regulators (1996)
A belated Richard Bachman novel, The Regulators' story takes place in a kind of parallel universe to fellow King novel Desperation, which itself has been adapted to film. A Regulators TV series was floated at one point, but nothing ever came of the idea. Were The Regulators to ever be adapted, an interesting gimmick could be getting the cast of the Desperation movie to reprise their altered roles.
Black House (2001)
Co-written by King and Peter Straub, it's no wonder that Black House has yet to be adapted, as it's a sequel to their prior collaboration The Talisman, which itself only now looks to finally be receiving an adaptation of its own. Once The Talisman movie materializes, one assumes Black House will also be adapted should its predecessor perform well at the box office.
Blaze (2007)
This most recent Richard Bachman book was originally written in the 1970s, but never published. In the mid-2000s, King gave it a re-write and update, and put it out under the Bachman name as it was written around the time of the other Bachman books. Blaze focuses on a petty criminal who kidnaps the baby of a wealthy family in the hopes of pulling off one last big score.
Duma Key (2008)
Duma Key is another that's had a movie adaptation teased a few times, only for the project to stall out before it can get out of the starting gate. Duma Key is the name of the Florida island that protagonist Edgar Freemantle moves to after things go bad in his life, as he seeks to rebuild. He finds new friendship and a reawakened love for painting, but also an ancient supernatural entity that threatens the entire location.
Gwendy's Button Box (2017)
An illustrated story released by Cemetery Dance in the U.S., Gwendy's Button Box is the only King novella so far to be published on its own, instead of in a story collection. Richard Chizmar co-wrote the story, which is set in 1974 Castle Rock, and centers on the titular 12-year-old girl that runs into a dark stranger who wants her to come over and talk. Needless to say, this person doesn't have good intentions.
Elevation (2018)
One of King's most recent books, Elevation is also set in Castle Rock, Maine, and focuses on Scott Carey, a man suffering from a bizarre and debilitating disease. He's also trying to help his neighbors, a lesbian couple, successfully open a business over the prejudices of their small town. Elevation is one of King's more uplifting works, although it's certainly not without a measure of sadness.
Stephen King Books Soon to Receive Adaptations
The list other Stephen King books not previously adapted that are set to become movies begins with 1979's The Long Walk, which attached Andre Ovredal to direct in 2019. 1981's Roadwork is also becoming a film, produced by IT director Andy Muschietti. Stephen Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment is set to finally bring The Talisman to the big screen, after years of false starts. 1999's The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is becoming a movie produced by Christine Romero, wife of the late George Romero. Meanwhile, Thomas Jane will soon produce a feature adaptation of From a Buick 8. Finally, 2014's Revival is being adapted into a movie by Gerald's Game director Mike Flanagan.
As for King adaptations headed to TV, King's 1984 fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon is in the works at Hulu, while a series adaptation of Lisey's Story is on its way to Apple TV+, with Julianne Moore starring and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot producing. King's supernatural crime novel Joyland has a series in development at Freeform, while Sleeping Beauties, co-written by Stephen King and his son Owen, has been picked up by AMC with the intent of creating a series of open-ended length.
