Josh Boone Says Russell Crowe Will Headline His Adaptation Of Stephen King’s REVIVAL

You've probably noticed that we're at the dawn of a new Stephen-King-on-film renaissance: a big-budget adaptation of It is on the way, Sony's got The Dark Tower hitting theaters in July, Netflix just wrapped production on an adaptation of Gerald's Game, and director Josh Boone (currently in pre-production on a New Mutants movie) still plans on bringing King's Revival to the big screen.

It's been a while since we heard anything about that last one, but now - thanks to a new interview over at Creative Screenwriting - we've got an update: Boone says Revival will be his next film after The New Mutants ... and that he's got Russell Crowe lined up to star in the film.

Here he is, casually saying as much:

I have a good relationship with Stephen King, so when I wanted to adapt his novel Revival I really just went and asked him. I was able to write it in a very pleasant bubble and we attached Russell Crowe. I plan to make that right after New Mutants.

It seems safe to assume that Crowe will be playing Charles Jacobs, the obsessive preacher at the center of King's novel, but of course that's not made explicit in the quote above. For those of you who haven't read Revival, here's a plot synopsis from King's website:

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of 13, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

The rest of Creative Screenwriting's interview with Boone is absolutely worth reading, particularly if you're a King fan (the director tells a great story about how he and King became friends), so head on over there if that's you.

Everyone else is encouraged to hit the comments to weigh in on this bit of casting. You into Crowe doing a King adaptation? Think Revival will make a good movie? Happy to see so many King joints hitting the big screen? Let's hear about it.