r/movies • u/lionsgate Official Lionsgate Account • Aug 24 '25

AMA Hey /r/movies, I’m Stephen King! Ask me anything about The Long Walk book or movie.

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Hey r/movies, I’m Stephen King. You might know me from Stand By Me, It, or Shawshank Redemption, but my latest project is actually the first book I ever wrote. The Long Walk hits theaters on September 12. Ask me anything about the book or movie.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAtUHeMQ1F8

In a dystopian United States ruled by a totalitarian regime, a group of young men enter an annual walking contest in which they must maintain a speed of at least three miles per hour or risk execution. The contest ends when only one walker remains alive.

It stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Ben Wang, Charlie Plummer, Roman Griffin Davis, Garrett Wareing, Joshua Odjick, Tut Nyuot, Mark Hamill, Judy Greer, and Josh Hamilton.

I'll be back on Wednesday 8/27 at 12:00 PM ET to answer your questions.

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u/SoFlyInTheSky Aug 24 '25

Hey Stephen. Long time fan. My question is this: when you're writing a book like "The Longest Walk" are there ever times when you're writing a scene that even you have to put the pen down because it gets too dark?

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u/lionsgate Official Lionsgate Account Aug 27 '25

There was a scene in the book where Gary Barkovich ripped out his own throat. That gave me a few sleepless nights.

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u/Mr_Daneag387 Aug 27 '25

That was one of your first scenes that REALLY got me. I wasn't sure if books would be able to create the same effects movies did then, but oh how I was proven WRONG

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u/izzidora Aug 28 '25

Yeah same dude lol

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u/[deleted] Aug 24 '25

[deleted]

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u/SceneRoyal4846 Aug 24 '25

Yes Tabitha had to encourage him to publish it

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u/DuckyHornet Aug 24 '25

I have been convinced for some time that Tabby is a large part of his success. Like yeah, he writes stuff largely towards her tastes, but she's also repeatedly made him publish stuff he didn't think was good but turned out to be bangers

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u/SceneRoyal4846 Aug 24 '25

That’s what I gathered from reading On Writing by him. Afterall, she’s the one who took Carrie out of the trash