In 1983, two masters of horror converged to make a classic. John Carpenter, the director of Halloween (1978), added a tale from fellow horror master Stephen King to his impressive resume with Christine. It is a film with the simplest of premises but introduces its insidious intentions right from the start. Carpenter establishes an eerie tone that carries throughout the film and jumps out at the audience with brute force when the occasion calls for it. He is a master at building suspense and made a simple story of a car into a nail-biting ride, earning its cult status and one of the most memorable from the '80s.

Update May 16, 2023: This article has been updated by Katie Downey with recent updates regarding the development of the Christine remake.

In June 2021, it was announced that Blumhouse Productions was developing a remake of King's classic story. King had been undergoing a renaissance after the successful adaptation of It and the sequel It: Chapter 2, which led to a Pet Semetary remake and now an upcoming adaptation of The Boogeyman. As of December 2021, the potential script was in King's hands. But in February 2022, Stephen King began to feel doubtful about actually making it. It has been over a year since King made those comments, and with that in mind, here is everything else we know about the Christine remake.

Christine: The Plot

Stephen King's Christine 1983
Columbia Pictures

Christine follows a bullied, shy, and unpopular teen named Arnie Cunningham in both the novel and the film. While at a junkyard, Arnie purchases a beat-up 1958 Plymouth Fury. When he starts fixing the car by himself, changes soon become apparent due to its influence. His acne clears up, he loses the need for his glasses, and his quiet and kind personality is replaced by one more angry and cynical, resembling a cocky '50s greaser. This change quickly starts to negatively affect his social life, all thanks to an old car. It becomes apparent that the vehicle has a sinister mind of its own, bent on mayhem, destruction, and even murder.

Related: Stephen King Movies That Need a Reboot

The original film stuck closely to the book and brought King's vision to life. Thanks to the author's storytelling and Carpenter's cinema expertise, it did modestly well at the box office. It grossed $21 million against a $10 million budget.

Christine: The Creative Team

Arnie and Dennis in Stephen King's Christine 1983
Columbia Pictures

So far, the creator of the Hannibal TV series Bryan Fuller is slated to direct the film, with Jason Blum serving as executive producer alongside Vincenzo Natali and Steven Hoban. As the film is also in collaboration with Sony Pictures, Peter Kang will oversee the project. It's unclear if King will play a part in the film's production. At the very least, he will likely be included in a consulting role. The current progress of the film is not yet known, but while speaking with Collider, Jason Blum revealed that the script for Fuller's film had been finished.

"We actually recently got a script, which was terrific. We're going to try and make it into a movie. That's my plan."

Fuller is committed to keeping the new film rooted in the '80s, the same period as the novel and the previous movie. He may stick closely to the source material as Carpenter did, but fans shouldn't expect him to follow it beat for beat. As with many book-to-screen adaptations, some things must be changed to fit time constraints. But Fuller is determined to keep the movie cemented in what made the book a bestseller.

Related: The Story of Stephen King’s Disastrous Attempt at Directing

This won't be Fuller's first foray with a King classic. He initially tried his hand at remaking Carrie back in 2002 as a television movie, but critics and fans showered the film with unfavorable reviews. That being said, the director has done much in the two decades since then. Fans were delightfully surprised by his graphic and gory series following the infamous Hannibal Lecter, played by Mads Mikkelson. Hence, fans know he can execute brutal horror and a mind-bending story.

Outside of horror, he's written for shows such as Pushing Daisies and was initially involved in developing Star Trek: Discovery but departed the project before it went into production. Fuller's track record is filled with projects like Dead Like Me and American Gods, which he begins with but departs early on over creative differences. The same might happen with Christine, given that Fuller is now involved with developing a Friday the 13th series for Peacock centered around Mrs. Voorhees titled Crystal Lake. That level of commitment might keep him away from Christine.

Release Date and Everything Else We Know

Stephen King's Christine 1983
Columbia Pictures

Regarding the cast of Christine, no one has been announced yet. As no news has been made about the project, it is unclear if casting has even begun. No filming date has been set, and no release date has been announced by the studio

Christine will be released by Sony Pictures, and the movie was not part of their 2023 CinemaCon panel, so it is unlikely it will be released in 2023 or 2024. Yet horror films typically have a short turn production cycle, and a 2024 release date is possible. Sony does not have a direct-to-streaming platform like many of its competitors, so the plan still seems to be for a theatrical release. Sony Pictures might be more incentivized for a theatrical release as both Smile and Evil Dead Rises were intended for streaming but were then moved up to theatrical releases and became box office hits.

One snafu Christine might have faced was the release of Halloweek Kills. Multiple sites noted similarities between the plot of Christine and Halloween Kills. Since Halloween Kills is a legacy sequel to John Carpenter's Halloween, it is fitting for them to draw from another Carpenter film, but it may have slowed the momentum down on the production of Christine as Blumhouse Productions, who produced Halloween Kills and is working on Christine may not want to release two similar films to one another.

2023 could be the year Christine picks up steam. The Boogeyman is another adaptation of a Stephen King story, and it was originally intended for a streaming release before getting a prime summer release date in theaters after positive test audiences. In addition, Blumhouse Productions has two horror films set to be released by Sony Pictures, Insidious: The Red Door and They Listen, both of which open in the summer. If the box office on all three projects is solid, it might be enough to get the ball moving on Christine.