Showing Hollywood's love for If It Bleeds, are already set to be adapted into movies. King is one of the most prolific authors in history, having written over 60 novels and over 200 short stories, most of which have been compiled into collections like If It Bleeds. With that in mind, it only makes sense that King is one of the most adapted authors of all time, with dozens and dozens of movies and TV shows having been made or in the works.
King's If It Bleeds is a collection of four novellas - on the long side for a short, but too short to be a full-fledged novel - in the style of past novella collections Different Seasons, Four Past Midnight, and Full Dark, No Stars. Released when most of the U.S. was still trying to stay home as much as possible, a new King book proved a welcome chance to mentally transport oneself into a different world.
Even though the book was just released in April, it comes as no real surprise that studios have already jumped on its contents in search of the next great King adaptation. Here's what we know about all four.
Stephen King's If It Bleeds: Every Adaptation Explained
Mr. Harrigan's Phone: This first story in the collection concerns a young man whose much older friend dies, and is buried with the iPhone he had been gifted years earlier. One night while grieving, Craig leaves a message for old Mr. Harrigan, and to his shock, gets a response from beyond the grave. Blumhouse Productions is teaming up with American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy to adapt Mr. Harrigan's Phone into a feature film for Netflix. John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks, The Founder) will write and direct.
The Life of Chuck: This second story is a bit of a strange one, told in oddly ordered chapters, and chronicling the life and death of the titular 39-year-old man, who dies of a brain tumor. Not a ton of info is available about The Life of Chuck's adaptation, but Darren Aronofsky is set to produce through his Protozoa company. It remains to be seen if the Black Swan helmer will opt to write or direct the adaptation as well.
If It Bleeds: If It Bleeds stars private eye The Outsider, played by Cynthia Erivo. The new story sees Holly investigating a school bombing, after a reporter covering it seems "off" to her. If It Bleeds hasn't officially been confirmed for an adaptation yet, but it's considered highly likely to happen according to industry reports, possibly as another limited series for HBO, as The Outsider was a huge hit.
Rat: The last story in the collection, Rat, sees a struggling writer named Drew Larson make a deal with a mysterious supernatural rat to clear up his writer's block in exchange for the life of a loved one. Later, he thinks he imagined the encounter, but sadly, it's more real than he would like. Ben Stiller has optioned Rat, and plans to produce, direct, and star in a feature film adaptation.
