Billy Summers: Yet Another Stephen King Adaptation Coming

Billy Summers, a 2021 novel by Stephen King, is the latest story from the prolific writer to be picked up. This time Bad Robot snapped it up, as J.J. Abrams will co-produce with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way company. Whispers are that Abrams may direct with Leo starring. Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz will handle writing duties. Bad Robot is no stranger to King, as they have had a perfect working relationship these last few years on projects like Castle Rock. This was also being shopped as a series but is now going to be a feature film. Deadline had the news of the project.

Billy Summers Is The 2,951st King Project In Development

“Billy Summers is a hitman who is looking to retire and takes one last highly lucrative job to feather his nest. The job requires him to embed himself in a quiet town, where he pretends to be an aspiring writer (he actually pours himself into the prose). He sets up in an office with a direct view of where hitman Joel Allen will be delivered to face trial for shooting two men during a poker game. Allen also has committed enough murders for some high-level mobsters to be scared the gunman will incriminate his former employers to lessen his sentence. Summers, a meticulous craftsman, becomes more and more cynical about the mobsters who’ve hired him, and his skepticism is well warranted as things go awry following the job’s completion.”

I do like that these types of King projects are also seeing the light of day. It can’t all just be the straight horror stuff, as he also has thrillers and some sci-fi that can be mined. With that kind of talent circling the project, expect this one to quickly shoot to the top of anticipated King adaptations.