A new Stephen King adaptation is coming to theaters early next year. Neon has released the first teaser trailer for The Monkey, the latest movie from Longlegs writer/director Osgood Perkins.
“For the longest time, there was nothing. But then it appeared. A beast not from this earth. Smiting the ones who deserved it, the ones who didn’t, and everyone in between. Whoever controls it, controls life and death. And those deaths are really fucked up,” the trailer’s narration states, as close-up shots of the vintage toy monkey are shown, spliced between shots of various gruesome accidents. The Monkey is based on the 1980 short story by King and will be Perkins’ fifth directorial effort and the first to be released after his wildly successful horror-thriller, Longlegs, which grossed over $100 million worldwide off a less than $10 million budget. Check out the official Redband teaser trailer and poster for The Monkey below.
Related
Kathy Bates’ Acclaimed Stephen King Movie Gets New Streaming Home
One of Stephen King’s favorite adaptations, which happens to have won Kathy Bates an Oscar, receives a new streaming home.
What Is The Monkey About?
“When twin brothers Bill and Hal find their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths start. The siblings decide to throw the toy away and move on with their lives, growing apart over the years,” the logline for The Monkey reads. However, when the inexplicable deaths resurface, the brothers are compelled to reconcile and embark on a mission to permanently eliminate the cursed toy. Theo James (The White Lotus) leads the cast of The Monkey as Bill and Hal, with Sweet Tooth‘s Christian Convery portraying the characters’ younger selves.
It’s a really gory comedy, and [Osgood Perkins is] not known for that. He wrote something really fun.
The cast also includes Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings), Colin O’Brien (Dear Edward), Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends), Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek), and Perkins. Wood recently teased the upcoming Stephen King adaptation back in September, saying that the supernatural horror movie is “unlike anything [Perkins has] made. It’s a really gory comedy, and he’s not known for that. He wrote something really fun.” The actor continued to praise The Monkey filmmaker, calling him “an extraordinary atmosphere master, an incredible filmmaker, and a great writer. This is an exciting time.”
Related
Every Change ‘Salem’s Lot (2024) Makes from Stephen King’s Novel
The feature-length adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel makes some changes to the text. Here’s what’s different in the new Salem’s Lot.
Neon Will Release Another Stephen King Movie in 2025
The Monkey won’t be the only Stephen King adaptation that Neon will distribute next year. The studio also has the Tom Hiddleston-led The Life of Chuck, which it acquired in September. The drama movie centers around the life of Charles Krantz, whose story will be told in three separate parts in reverse, beginning from his death up to his early childhood. The Life of Chuck was written and directed by Mike Flanagan, who previously helmed the Stephen King adaptations of Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. The filmmaker is also in early development on a series adaptation of King’s The Dark Tower series.
Other King adaptations currently in development in Hollywood are a feature-length adaptation of King’s dystopian horror novel The Long Walk at Lionsgate, and Edgar Wright’s film adaptation of The Running Man at Paramount, with the latter set to begin filming in November with Glen Powell and Katy O’Brian at the top of the cast list.
The Monkey hits theaters on Feb. 21, 2025.
Source: YouTube
The Monkey
- Director
- Osgood Perkins
- Release Date
- February 21, 2025
- Cast
- Theo James , Elijah Wood , Tatiana Maslany , Rohan Campbell , Christian Convery , Sarah Levy
- Studio(s)
- Atomic Monster
