Like his father Stephen King before him, Joe Hill is slowly seeing his various works being adapted for TV and screen. After the success of Locke & Key for Netflix and the short-lived NOS4A2 at AMC, Hill’s fourth novel The Fireman is coming to television.
Hill and Walden Media are teaming up to bring the post-apocalyptic novel to life, with Hill signed on to produce. Released in 2016, the book is about a plague called Dragonscale that spreads throughout the country and causes anyone infected to burst into flames. (Interesting synergy this week for Hill and his dad to have novels about fire get adapted.) A pregnant nurse with the infection meets a mysterious man known as the Fireman who’s managed to control his Dragonscale, and now wants to do the same so she can give birth to her child.
Back in 2016 before The Fireman released, it was set to become a film over at 20th Century Fox, which obviously didn’t happen. In a statement from CEO Frank Smith, Walden expressed at excitement in teaming up with the prolific author. “I can’t imagine a timelier book to be developing into a series,” said Smith. “The Fireman showcases a theme that Walden holds very dear — the idea of celebrating ordinary people who rise in extraordinary circumstances.”
Hill’s been having a solid run of his works being brought to live action over the last decade. In addition to the aforementioned NOS4A2 and Locke (whose third season is expected later this year), his short story The Black Phone is releasing its film adaptation in June from Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson. He’s even managed to get some of his other short stories adapted over on AMC’s horror anthology series Creepshow.
Right now, The Fireman adaptation doesn’t have a network or streaming service that it’s attached to. But fans of the book have something to look forward to in the coming years, and maybe a reason to reread the book again when it gets closer to being an actual thing you can watch.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]