Stephen King’s novel The Regulators, notable for remaining unadapted among his prolific works, nearly became a film under the direction of Western cinema icon Sam Peckinpah. In the 1980s, Stephen King adaptations were dominant in the horror genre with movies like Carrie, The Shining, and Christine quickly following one another, but The Regulators’ journey toward the screen took a very different path.
While King’s works have seen near-continuous adaptation from the late 1970s onward, several of his novels including Revival, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Insomnia have not yet been realized as films or series. The Regulators is unique in that it originated not from a novel but from an unproduced screenplay titled The Shotgunners, which King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym. The story features a quiet suburban neighborhood besieged by shotgun-armed killers and bears a meta and experimental narrative style.
Sam Peckinpah’s Interest in Stephen King’s The Shotgunners Screenplay
The notion that Sam Peckinpah, known primarily for his work in the Western genre, nearly directed a Stephen King adaptation might seem surprising, but Peckinpah was drawn to King’s horror-Western hybrid. Peckinpah, famous for his 1969 film The Wild Bunch, met with King to discuss adapting The Shotgunners into a feature film. King had written the screenplay in a feverish week and had struggled to attract producer interest until Peckinpah recognized its potential.
“Sam was looking for a picture to make and I had this screenplay that was called The Shotgunners which I had for a long time and went back something like five years. It was one of these feverous things that I’d written in about a week. I really like it but there was not interest in it. Sam read it, liked it a lot and suggested some things for the script that were really interesting. I thought that I could go back and do a second draft.” —Stephen King, Author
Director Peckinpah viewed The Shotgunners as a fitting project following his 1983 thriller The Osterman Weekend. Unfortunately, Peckinpah’s deteriorating health and personal struggles led to his death in December 1984, before King could revise the screenplay to incorporate Peckinpah’s feedback. Consequently, the project was shelved for nearly a decade.
Sam Peckinpah’s Lasting Impact on the Western Genre
Sam Peckinpah remains as infamous for his offscreen struggles as for his innovative filmmaking. Known for bringing a darker and more realistic tone to the Western genre, Peckinpah revolutionized the depiction of violence and moral complexity with The Wild Bunch. His portrayal of aging outlaws in the fading Old West combined with groundbreaking cinematic techniques like slow-motion gunfights made the film a landmark.
The Wild Bunch showcased graphic violence and a melancholic reflection on loyalty and obsolescence. This earned Peckinpah the nickname “Bloody Sam,” as his films often faced studio clashes and controversy due to their unflinching brutality. Despite mixed reviews and criticism—including legendary actor John Wayne expressing strong disdain—Peckinpah’s influence reshaped many future Westerns, including notable films like The Outlaw Josey Wales and John Wayne’s Big Jake.
Attempts to remake The Wild Bunch have languished in development limbo for over a decade, with figures such as Tony Scott and Mel Gibson attached at various points but never advancing to production.
Stephen King Transformed The Shotgunners into The Regulators Novel
After shelving The Shotgunners screenplay for several years, Stephen King revisited the concept, reimagining it as The Regulators, published alongside its companion novel Desperation on September 24, 1996. Both books are linked by shared characters and the evil entity Tak but tell separate, contrasting stories. The Regulators functions as a “what if?” counterpart to Desperation, adapting the siege scenario from The Shotgunners screenplay into a novel format.
Despite the thematic connection, King has not publicly explored the extent of changes made between the screenplay and the novel version. However, the novel’s ties to Desperation suggest significant narrative shifts from The Shotgunners’ original screenplay.
King’s practice of sitting on concepts for extended periods before developing them fully into novels is well-documented; Under the Dome underwent a similar lengthy gestation, first conceived in 1972 but published decades later. Likewise, The Regulators’ evolution from an unproduced screenplay to a novel gave King the opportunity to refine and reposition the story within his broader literary universe.
The Regulators Has Yet to Be Adapted into a Film
Though Stephen King’s Desperation was adapted into an ABC television movie in 2006, with a script by King and direction by frequent collaborator Mick Garris, The Regulators has not made the leap to screen. The Desperation adaptation featured a notable cast, including Ron Perlman, Tom Skerritt, and Annabeth Gish, but it failed to gain strong ratings, losing ground to shows like American Idol.
Given this underperformance, it is unsurprising that neither Garris nor ABC showed interest in producing a sequel based on The Regulators. Garris reportedly declined involvement in adapting the book, further dimming prospects for the project. Moreover, The Regulators remains King’s only major Reid Bachman-era work not yet seen on screen despite occasional reports of potential development, with the latest mentions in 2022 indicating a possible film adaptation has yet to move forward.
King’s first original screenplay attempt was The Shotgunners, and after its initial failure to draw attention, he would not write another original screenplay until 1992’s Sleepwalkers. This highlights the difficulties associated with translating King’s written concepts, especially those outside his traditional horror novel framework, into film.
If The Regulators were ever adapted, the story would come full circle—from Peckinpah’s early interest in The Shotgunners to a cinematic reinterpretation of that same material decades later. Despite this, Peckinpah’s vision of The Shotgunners still seems the most compelling unrealized adaptation connected to King’s work.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. How high is Stephen King’s IQ?
A. Stephen King is an American writer known for horror and suspense stories. He has written many popular books and is very successful. His IQ is said to be about 130. King’s skill in creating gripping stories has won him a huge fan base and praise from critics.
