In April of last year, we learned that James Wan was producing a new adaptation of Stephen King’s vampire story “Salem’s Lot” and that Gary Dauberman, the scribe behind “It,” “The Nun” and “Annabelle Comes Home” was attached to write the screenplay. It seems like the project is moving forward because Dauberman is also going to direct the film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dauberman closed a deal to direct the adaptation. The iconic 1975 novel follows a writer returning to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot (aka Salem’s Lot), only to discover that the town’s inhabitants are now vampires.
The novel has already been adapted before, only on TV. Tobe Hooper directed a miniseries in 1979 fresh off his iconic “Texas Chain Saw Massacre”, and would wind up being nominated for multiple Emmys. A sequel TV film was produced in 1987 and another TV adaptation was made in 2004. Parts of the story were adapted into season 2 of Hulu’s “Castle Rock.”
When it comes to this new adaptation, the news of Dauberman being involved is a no-brainer. All three of the “Annabelle” movies written by Dauberman have been commercial successes, as was the first “It” movie, and Dauberman’s directorial debut “Annabelle Comes Home” also received a positive critical response. While talking to The Hollywood Reporter last year, Dauberman described his take on “Salem’s Lot,” saying “I’m very, very excited to be a part of that and tackle it,” Dauberman said. “It hasn’t had the big screen treatment yet, which is how I felt about It. It’s so fun to play around with vampires and make something truly scary with vampires. I haven’t seen that in a long, long time, and I’m excited for people to see it.”