According to The Hollywood Reporter, Game of Thrones alum Pilou Asbæk has officially signed on for a key role in New Line Cinema’s forthcoming film adaptation of Stephen King’s classic horror novel Salem’s Lot. Production is currently underway in Boston.
The Danish actor is set to portray the role of Richard Straker, a character previously portrayed by Oscar nominee James Mason in the 1979 miniseries, and by Golden Globe winner Donald Sutherland in the 2004 miniseries. Straker is the vampire’s familiar who prepares for the arrival of his master and does plenty of dirty work.
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The newest film adaptation of Salem’s Lot will be written and directed by Gary Dauberman (Annabelle Comes Home), who previously penned the screenplay for another Stephen King adaptation, 2017’s IT, and 2019’s IT: Chapter Two. The film will star Lewis Pullman, Alfre Woodard Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, Spencer Treat Clark, and William Sadler.
Pick up your copy of the novel.
In the 1975 horror novel, author Ben Mears returns to the town of Jerusalem’s Lot to write a book about a house that has haunted him since childhood only to find his isolated hometown infested with vampires. While the vampires claim more victims, Mears convinces a small group of believers to combat the undead.
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The new Salem’s Lot movie will reunite Dauberman with The Conjuring Universe creator James Wan, who is producing the project alongside his Atomic Monster partner Michael Clear and Vertigo’s Roy Lee, & Mark Wolper. Executive producers are Dauberman, Michael Bederman, Atomic Monster’s Judson Scott, and Vertigo’s Andrew Childs.
The film is currently slated to arrive in theaters on September 9, 2022.