Gary Dauberman is providing fans with a new take on Salem's Lot, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. The initial book, released in 1975, was King's second published novel. The plot follows a writer named Ben Mears, who returns to the town of Jerusalem's Lot in Maine, where he lived from age five through nine, only to discover that the residents are becoming vampires.
There have been several adaptations through the years, including the 1979 TV mini-series starring David Soul, the 1987 film A Return to Salem's Lot starring Michael Moriarty, and a 2004 Mini-Series titled Salem's Lot starring Rob Lowe. It's been nearly two decades since we've seen a new iteration of the classic story. However, fans will have to wait a little longer to see the latest adaptation.
The film was initially slated to release on Sept. 9th; however, a significant delay has pushed Salem's Lot to April 21st, 2023. Deadline reports the move is due to Covid-related post-production difficulties and days of additional photography. The film will feature Lewis Pullman in the lead role, with Pilou Asbæk, Spencer Treat Clark, William Sadler, Alfre Woodard, Bill Camp, and John Benjamin Hickey appearing in the movie. Dauberman is directing, who previously wrote the script for films such as It, The Nun, Annabelle Comes Home, and It Chapter Two.
Dauberman wants to change how vampires are viewed with Salem's Lot, previously telling Den of Geek he tried to stay away from the depictions that Interview with the Vampire, Twilight, and The Vampire Diaries portray.
"That's exactly what I said and that's exactly what I thought. Which is why I said, 'Hey, can we make a movie of this?' Because we haven't seen that in a really long time and they should be terrifying, and the novel's terrifying, and it's [expletive] great to work on. I can't wait to bring it to the big screen, we've seen it on the smaller screen and it's going to be awesome on the big screen."
Audiences can check out just how awesome it is when Salem's Lot arrives in theaters on its new date, April 21st, 2023.
Salem's Lot Isn't the Only Film Getting Delayed
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Last Train to New York, the upcoming remake of the 2016 hit Train to Busan, was recently removed from the Warner Bros. Pictures' release schedule. For now, it's unknown whether the film will be delayed indefinitely or scrapped altogether. Dauberman also wrote Last Train to New York and has yet to share an update on the project.
Throughout 2022, big blockbuster films have been delayed to accommodate the post-production crew and allocate more time for VFX. Recently, Marvel has been under scrutiny for their reportedly low pay for visual effect artists and incomplete CGI seen in Thor: Love and Thunder and several other films.
A few films which have new dates include Indiana Jones 5 on June 30th, 2023, John Wick: Chapter 4 on March 24th, 2023, The Marvels on July 28th, 2023, and Wonka on Dec. 15th, 2023. We will have to wait and see if delays continue to occur across 2023; hopefully, the worst of the delay season is already over.