Y'know, when we talk about great Stephen King novels (and the movies inspired by them), we tend to mention the same titles over and over again. The Shining. It. The Stand. Salem's Lot. One title that doesn't get a lot of love is 1989's The Dark Half, or George A. Romero's 1993 adaptation of that novel.
This is a damn shame, because both Romero's film and the King novel that inspired it are truly great, mean-spirited and nasty little works with a bonkers premise ("What if a successful writer's pseudonym came to life and turned out to be a violent lunatic?") and, in the case of Romero's film, a handful of excellent performances. Both the book and film versions of The Dark Half are generally considered mid-level King, and that's not the worst fate in the world...all I'm saying is, maybe they're both a bit better than we give 'em credit for.
Anyway, according to Deadline, The Dark Half's getting another at-bat thanks to Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell), who's just been signed by MGM to write and direct a new adaptation of King's novel. Deadline's report doesn't mention that other Stephen King adaptation Perry was recently attached to, but they do mention he's planning to "reinvent" The Dark Half in some way. That's an intriguing little wrinkle.
We're still in the early going on this one, so there's no word on when the new Dark Half might arrive or who might headline it, but perhaps we can pass the time by fan-casting it ourselves? Please let us know who you'd like to see playing Thad Beaumont/George Stark in Perry's adaptation, and do stay tuned for further The Dark Half updates as they roll in.