The Monkey secures a 2025 release date. Stephen King’s The Monkey, based on the author’s 1980 short story of the same name, follows twin brothers Hal and Bill as they discover a cursed toy monkey in their attic that causes the deaths of people in their community. The brothers throw the monkey away but must reunite when it begins to kill again. The Monkey hails from director Osgood Perkins (Gretel and Hansel), and stars Theo James, Elijah Wood, and Tatiana Maslany, among others.

Neon now reveals that The Monkey will release in theaters on February 21, 2025. NEON is also handling distribution for Longlegs, Perkins’ other upcoming horror flick. With a release date now set for next February, it’s likely that a trailer for the King adaptation won’t arrive for some time.

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The Monkey already has several positive factors working in its favor. For one, it features a strong cast, with James, especially, a star on the rise due to projects like White Lotus and The Gentleman. Osgood’s involvement as director is also promising given the buzz around his upcoming movie, Longlegs. That film, which stars Nicolas Cage as a serial killer, has featured a stellar marketing campaign and has earned rave first reviews.

The Monkey‘s talent in front of and behind the camera suggests the film will be among the better King adaptations of the last few years, continuing a trend set by 2023’s The Boogeyman. The Boogeyman reviews were generally positive from critics, breaking an unfortunate trend that began in 2020. Before that film, movies like Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, Firestarter, and Children of the Corn all failed to make much of an impact, as seen in the chart below.

While much of his written work remains beloved, it’s clear that King movie adaptations don’t always hit the same chord. There’s certainly reason to be optimistic about The Monkey, however, and the film could cement Osgood as a Mike Flannagan-level filmmaker in the horror genre if it and Longlegs both end up being successful. A trailer for The Monkey may not be arriving anytime soon, but, at the very least, the film now has a firm release date.

Source: Neon

The Monkey

Adapted from the story of the same name by Stephen King, The Monkey is a horror mystery film that follows twin brothers Hal and Bill, who discover a mysterious monkey toy in their father’s attic that seems tied to several grizzly deaths. After years apart, the twins learn that similar deaths have begun again and must reunite to destroy the monkey.

Director

Osgood Perkins

Studio(s)

Atomic Monster

Cast

Theo James