Summary
- Stephen King is reportedly terminating Warner Bros.' Copyright license for The Shawshank Redemption, sparking rumors of a possible reboot.
- The iconic 1994 film, based on King's 1982 book, received seven Oscar nominations, despite modest box office success.
- King's aggressive approach to copyright terminations suggests he may be planning a new adaptation or simply reclaiming rights for potential future use.
Stephen King fans might find themselves rejoicing sooner rather than later as the legendary horror author is reportedly in the midst of terminating Warner Bros.' Copyright license for his iconic 1994 prison drama film, The Shawshank Redemption, which, so happens to be 30 years since the movie was first released.
Written and directed by Frank Darabont, whose other works include The Green Mile, The Mist, and the first season of AMC's The Walking Dead, The Shawshank Redemption was based on Stephen King's 1982 book, and has since remained one of the author's most popular novels as well as films among his dedicated fanbase. Starring Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, the movie's plotline follows Dufresne, who is sentenced to life in a corrupt and dehumanizing prison for the murder of his wife. However, life is made a little easier when he forms a close friendship with fellow inmate Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman). As popular as the movie is, it didn't do so well at the box office upon its theatrical release, taking in only $16 million. Regardless, The Shawshank Redemption went on to win seven Academy Award nominations, which saw the film then get a re-release in cinemas, increasing the film's box-office total to $73.3 million.
A Shawshank Redemption Reboot Could Be on the Way
According to Puck's newsletter by Matthew Belloni (highlighted ScreenRant), Stephen King has rumored plans to halt the copyright license with Warner Bros. Of course, this has now created a buzz that a new adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption could be making its way back to the big screen or even as a TV series. As outlined by the original source, King's legal team has reportedly informed Warner Bros. That King will be ending the copyright license for The Shawshank Redemption. As of writing, no official statement has come from Warner Bros. Or King regarding a reboot of any kind of the classic 1994 movie, but since a lot of King's works have received the adaptation treatment over the years, with more coming out now than ever, this rumor does hold some credit.
"Stephen King’s lawyers have notified Warner Bros. That he will be terminating the copyright license for The Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite movies." Matthew Belloni reported. "I hope this doesn’t mean he’s gonna set up a new movie or TV series elsewhere. King is pretty aggressive about terminations, Puck’s Eriq Gardner tells me, which makes sense given how robust the market continues to be for adaptations of his books."
Even though most people's first guess would be that due to King taking the adaptation rights to The Shawshank Redemption from Warner Bros. That it means he's definitely planning a new movie, but it could be something simpler, like the rights have now become available to reclaim after the allocated time has passed, and he merely wants to hold onto them to resell at a later date.
It's also fair to say that, due to the film's iconic status as one, if not the best King adaptation ever, he wouldn't be short on takers and likely in no rush to see another reboot, since there are so many of his in the pipeline, which include The Life of Chuck, The Long Walk, and The Running Man this year alone. Not to mention his 1974 novel Carrie, which is being adapted into a TV series by Mike Flanagan. However, some King fans might not be too happy with a Shawshank reboot, given that the classic is already a brilliant film.
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- Release Date
- September 23, 1994
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
- Director
- Frank Darabont
- Writers
- Frank Darabont
- Producers
- Liz Glotzer
Cast
-
Tim RobbinsAndy Dufresne -
Morgan FreemanEllis Boyd 'Red' Redding -
Bob GuntonWarden Norton -
William SadlerHeywood
WHERE TO WATCH
Source: ScreenRant