Buzz
As one of history's most prolific authors, Stephen King also holds the distinction of having his works frequently adapted for the screen. Starting with 1976’s Carrie, directed by Brian de Palma and based on King’s 1974 first novel, countless films have drawn inspiration from his novels, novellas, and short stories. While Carrie stayed remarkably true to its source material, including the infamous prom scene, not all adaptations adhere to King’s original endings. Here are eight movies that chose to diverge from the books—spoilers and shocking twists included.
1. Cujo (1983)
Cujo, King’s gripping 1981 novel about a rabid Saint Bernard, was penned during the peak of the author’s struggles with addiction, which he has admitted left him with little memory of writing it. This might have made the film adaptation a novel experience for him. In the book, Donna Trenton and her son Tad are trapped in a car, menaced by the titular beast. However, the movie spares their lives, while the novel takes a darker turn, with Tad tragically succumbing to dehydration during the ordeal.
King appeared to approve of the alteration, mentioning that the book's conclusion had sparked a flood of angry letters. “I was very, very active in getting that changed,” Dee Wallace, who portrayed Donna Trenton, told Den of Geek in 2007. “In fact, Stephen King wrote to us and said, ‘Thank God you changed the ending; I never received more hate mail than when I killed the boy at the end of Cujo.’ At least three-quarters of the movie audience hasn’t read the book. You can’t expect a theater audience to emotionally invest in saving the boy and then take that away from them. It works differently in a book.”
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Frank Darabont’s adaptation of King’s 1982 novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” from the Different Seasons collection, was slow to gain traction. Initially a box office flop, it won over audiences through home video and frequent cable broadcasts. However, King’s original ending might not have resonated as well with viewers.
In Shawshank, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), an accountant, is sentenced to life in prison for his wife’s murder. During his incarceration, he befriends Red (Morgan Freeman) and meticulously plans his escape, eventually succeeding after years of effort.
In the novella, Red is paroled and sets out to find Andy, who has left clues about his location. The film, however, makes their reunion explicit, with the two characters reuniting onscreen. This change came after Warner Bros. executives urged Darabont to abandon King’s more ambiguous conclusion, which the director had initially planned to retain.
“The initial script concluded with Red on the bus, filled with uncertainty yet hopeful about what lay ahead, mirroring the ending of King’s story,” Darabont remarked during a 2014 anniversary screening. “[Studio executives insisted], ‘After over two hours of hardship, the audience deserves that reunion.’”
3. The Stand (2020-2021)
The Stand (1978), King’s most extensive novel to date (the uncut 1990 edition spans nearly 1200 pages), carries enough weight to serve as a formidable object. The narrative is equally impactful: After a pandemic wipes out most of humanity, a group of survivors journeys across the nation to face Randall Flagg, a malevolent being determined to dominate the remnants of civilization.
The 1994 ABC miniseries stayed largely true to King’s work, but the 2020-2021 adaptation on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) introduced some variations. While it didn’t drastically change the conclusion, it advanced the story in a few notable ways.
In the book, after Flagg is defeated by a nuclear explosion, survivor Stu Redman reunites with his beloved Frannie and their newborn. In the 2020-2021 series, Frannie (Odessa Young) faces an accident orchestrated by a revived Flagg (Alexander Skarsgård), who proposes a sinister deal: He’ll spare Stu (James Marsden) and their child if she agrees to harbor his evil essence. She refuses, but hope remains: A benevolent force—possibly a reincarnated Mother Abigail—restores her, ensuring Stu’s family remains whole. King endorsed this revised ending, as he penned the new conclusion himself.
4. The Shining (1980)
King was not particularly fond of Stanley Kubrick’s version of his 1977 novel. He opposed the choice of Jack Nicholson for the lead role, citing his iconic, Oscar-winning turn in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), believing it gave away his character’s eventual madness too early. However, the most significant alteration occurs at the end. In the book, Jack Torrance manages to resist the Overlook Hotel’s influence long enough to let his son Danny escape. After Danny and his mother Wendy are safe, the hotel’s boiler blows up, killing Jack and destroying the property.
Kubrick felt an explosion would be too predictable. Instead, he devised an ending where Jack succumbs to the cold outside while chasing Danny through a hedge maze, later appearing in a 1921 photograph taken at the hotel.
Kubrick also reworked his own finale: Initially, he included a hospital scene with Danny and Wendy to reassure viewers of their safety. A ball from the hotel rolls into view, suggesting all might not be well. Though shown at critic screenings, Kubrick removed the scene just before the film’s release. It won’t be found in Blu-ray extras or online, as Kubrick, who opposed reediting his work, destroyed all unused footage.
5. Doctor Sleep (2019)
King’s 2013 follow-up to The Shining had to address the destruction of the Overlook Hotel from the first book. Now an adult, Danny Torrance, still haunted by “the Shining,” cannot return to the hotel. Instead, he confronts his psychic adversary, Rose the Hat, at her group’s campsite located on the hotel’s property. His deceased father, Jack, appears to assist him in defeating her.
However, the Overlook’s legacy was so powerful that director Mike Flanagan chose to align the sequel with the 1980 Stanley Kubrick film’s continuity. In the 2019 movie, the hotel remains intact, allowing Danny (Ewan McGregor) to face Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) within its eerie corridors. Jack Torrance doesn’t appear as a spectral guide but surfaces near the end as the hotel’s bartender, engaging Danny in conversation. This role is portrayed by Henry Thomas, known for his role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
6. It Chapter Two (2019)
Released in 1986, It—featuring Pennywise, a malevolent entity that assumes the form of a clown to torment children in Derry, Maine, every 27 years—is often regarded as King’s magnum opus. The novel was adapted into a 1990 TV miniseries and two films (2017 and 2019), which divided the story into two parts.
In the book’s conclusion, It transforms into a colossal spider, and the adult members of the Losers Club revisit their childhood memories before their final confrontation. The 2019 film omits the spider—though Pennywise morphs into a spider-like creature, it’s not his true form—and avoids an unsettling flashback from the book involving the group’s underage sexual experience.
7. Children of the Corn (1984)
King’s short story, originally part of the 1978 Night Shift collection, serves as a stark warning about youthful rebellion: Children take control of a rural Nebraska town, inflicting brutal consequences on any adults who venture there. This spells danger for traveling couple Burt and Vicky (portrayed by Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton in the 1984 film).
In the story, the child cult murders Vicky and removes her eyes, offering her body as a sacrifice to their malevolent deity, He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Burt meets a similar fate. However, in the movie, the couple escapes unharmed, with their eyes untouched.
8. The Mist (2007)
The most notorious deviation from King’s original work occurs at the end of 2007’s The Mist, another adaptation directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1985 novella from Skeleton Crew. In The Mist, artist David (Thomas Jane), his son Billy, and others are trapped in a grocery store as a mysterious mist conceals terrifying creatures outside.
In the novella’s conclusion, David and a handful of survivors manage to escape, holding onto a glimmer of hope that safety lies within the fog. However, Darabont’s film introduces a brutal twist: Believing they are doomed after their car stalls, David chooses to shoot his son and the others to spare them from a gruesome fate. Moments later, a military convoy emerges from the mist. Had David waited, rescue would have arrived. This stark contrast to Cujo’s altered ending underscores that the film world isn’t always kind to King’s tragic characters.
