In early 2026, the abrupt cancellations of The Revelations of Becka Paulson and The Talisman have highlighted a concerning pattern of Stephen King adaptation cancellations in the film and television industry. Known for more than sixty novels, Stephen King’s stories have long fueled both cinemas and TV, but the recent setbacks suggest a wavering commitment from studios and networks amid shifting audience interest.
Stephen King’s prolific storytelling has provided an endless source of adaptations for movie and television producers, who have dipped into both his classic and lesser-known works over the decades. In recent years, enthusiasm surged again, with projects like HBO Max’s It prequel Welcome to Derry and Glen Powell’s starring role in The Running Man thriller, scheduled for 2025. This resurgence positioned 2025 as another landmark year for King’s work on screen, with both fans and studios eager for fresh takes on his tales.
However, those anticipating a greater wave of King’s stories in the near future have faced disappointment. Since January 2026, two prominent adaptations—The Revelations of Becka Paulson and The Talisman—have been scrapped, punctuating concerns about the viability of unfinished or developing projects based on King’s extensive bibliography. The cancellations have caused a ripple throughout the industry, affecting directors, producers, and devoted audiences alike.
Lack of Support and Follow-Through Plagues The Talisman and Becka Paulson Projects
While Netflix celebrated the highly successful conclusion of Stranger Things, the streamer demonstrated hesitation when it came to the Duffer Brothers’ next endeavor—a planned series based on Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman. Initially announced with significant buzz, the adaptation promised a blend of real-world drama and high fantasy, centering on young Jack Sawyer navigating both Earth and the supernatural Territories to save his mother’s life from a deadly illness.
The Talisman’s cinematic mix of adventure, suspense, and the surreal seemed a perfect fit for the creative team behind Stranger Things. Yet, following the acclaimed series finale, the Duffer Brothers announced their departure from The Talisman adaptation, leaving the eagerly awaited project adrift. For readers and fans, this was a significant disappointment, but it was just the beginning of a series of setbacks for King-based television.
The CW’s announcement in 2020 of The Revelations of Becka Paulson, based on King’s short story from Skeleton Crew, initially sparked curiosity. The premise followed Becka Paulson, who after an accident begins seeing and communicating with Jesus, who shares troubling revelations about those closest to her, pushing Becka toward violence and revenge. Although the story had seen a previous adaptation in the 1997 anthology The Outer Limits, a serialized version aimed to expand on the dark and bizarre premise. Despite not being as widely recognized as King’s major works, this adaptation was seen as a bold move from the network.
The collapse of both projects within weeks of each other signaled not just isolated failures, but a problem for King’s works transitioning to new screen projects, particularly when it comes to niche stories or unfinished development cycles.
Changing Landscape for King’s Television Adaptations
The loss of The Revelations of Becka Paulson, announced less than a week after The Talisman’s cancellation, has come to symbolize a downturn in fortunes for small-screen King adaptations. Where once there was near-assurance that any King property would find an audience, recent years have seen mixed reviews and lukewarm viewership dampen enthusiasm from networks and streamers.
Although some adaptations—like The Outsider (2020), Mr Mercedes, and It: Welcome to Derry—have achieved critical and commercial success, the same cannot be said for all, with costly misfires dotting King’s TV track record. Notable among these was 2017’s The Mist and 2020’s The Stand, which struggled during its release due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, the issues extended beyond timing; The Stand suffered from convoluted storytelling, controversial casting choices, and significant alterations to King’s original plot, demonstrating that even King’s most ambitious stories pose risks when adapted for television.
Mixed Performance at the Box Office and Streamers Sparks Industry Doubts
Stephen King’s works have not only struggled on television. While 2017’s It achieved massive box office success, translating a sprawling novel into a blockbuster hit, not all cinematic adaptations have enjoyed similar outcomes. The Stand, adapted into a miniseries, ended up more complicated and less effective than its source, highlighting the unpredictable nature of King’s adaptations.
In 2025, Glen Powell’s The Running Man, despite receiving critical praise, underperformed at the box office, mirroring the fate of Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of The Life of Chuck. Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk managed to break even, yet it failed to replicate the financial triumphs of Lawrence’s earlier ventures such as the Hunger Games franchise or I Am Legend. Meanwhile, the 2024 release of Salem’s Lot bypassed cinemas altogether, premiering straight on streaming, further demonstrating the unpredictability in the appeal and financial prospects of King’s adaptations in today’s crowded media landscape.
These performance trends, combined with the cancellation of significant projects like The Revelations of Becka Paulson and The Talisman, are sending a clear message to TV producers and industry leaders. Once viewed as a sure thing, the King brand no longer guarantees ratings or profits, forcing a reconsideration of which stories warrant adaptation and how much risk studios are willing to accept.
Implications for Future Stephen King Adaptations
The recent Stephen King adaptation cancellations may mark a turning point in the relationship between Hollywood and one of its most prolific literary sources. While the author continues to be a creative force with no sign of slowing, the mixed history of big-budget flops, uneven reviews, and ambiguous box office draws is making stewards of King’s universe more cautious than ever. Filmmakers, showrunners, and studios may now think twice before greenlighting projects, focusing instead on those with established mainstream appeal or proven creative teams. For audiences, this might mean fewer, yet potentially higher-quality, adaptations in the future as networks and platforms become more selective about which chapters of King’s repertoire reach the screen.
