Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (2024)

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (1)

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Ever since the blockbuster release of Andy Muschietti’sITin 2017, it feels like it’s rare for more than a few weeks to go by without hearing about a new Stephen King project in the works. The author’s novels and stories have spiked in popularity, and film studios, TV networks, and streaming services have all been getting in on the action. We’ve heard about a number of projects being developed, including adaptations of King’s most recent books, but one of the productions now making the most significant steps forward is a live-action feature based on the short story “The Boogeyman.”

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So what isThe Boogeymanabout? Who is making it? Who is starring in it? When will it be coming out? And how? If all of those questions are presently swimming around your head, this quick things guide is very much for you, as it’s entirely built around the attempt at answering all those queries. Let’s start by taking a trip back to the 1970s and do a quick recap of the Stephen King source material’s origins…

If You’re Planning To Read The Stephen King Short Story “The Boogeyman” First

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (2)

“The Boogeyman” was first published in the adult magazine Cavalier in 1973, but it is best known for being a part ofNight Shift, Stephen King’s first collection of short stories published in 1978. The story centers on a fragile man named Lester Billings who believes that his three young children have been murdered by a supernatural entity he calls The Boogeyman. He recounts how his offspring died to a psychiatrist named Dr. Harper, with specific focus on the protagonist’s failed efforts to preserve the life of his third baby, and the tale comes to an end with a deadly twist that confirms Lester’s worst fears.

It’s a quick tale of terror, and the film adaptation is set to change quite a lot from the source material. There is still a psychiatrist involved in the story, and Lester is a character (more on them in a bit), but the official plot description has confirmed that the plot is being changed significantly.

The Boogeyman Will Arrive In Theaters On June 2

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (3)

While comedies and dramas have struggled at the box office since the pandemic, no genre is presently doing better in theaters right now than horror – and The Boogeyman looks prepped to wholly take advantage of that situation. The Stephen King adaptation will have some serious opening weekend competition, as June 2 is also the release date for the hotly anticipated Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse from Sony Pictures Animation, but it’s set up to be solid counterprogramming for more mature audiences and could do quite well if it’s able to build up enough positive word of mouth prior to and after release.

The Boogeyman’s First Trailer Is Seriously Scary

The very first trailer for The Boogeyman premiered during the NFL’s NFC Championship game in late January 2023, and it has us more excited than ever for the film. It looks dark and spooky and it looks like it is going to get quite clever with its scares (the light ball rolling under the bed is a great bit). Also, when you look at the footage frame-by-frame, you get to see some pretty wild creature design.

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The Boogeyman’s Cast Includes Chris Messina, Sophie Thatcher, And More

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (4)

It was in January 2022 that The Boogeyman started putting together its cast,and while not a great deal has been specifically revealed about the various characters in the story, the ensemble is full of talent.

Chris Messina Plays Will

Since making his feature film debut in 1998’s Rounders, Chris Messina has consistently proven himself to be a fantastic character actor, appearing in projects both for the big and small screens – his filmography including standout titles like Birds Of Prey, Sharp Objects, and The Mindy Project. In The Boogeyman he is playing Will, a psychiatrist who is a recent widower and father of two daughters.

Sophie Thatcher Plays Sadie

Sophie Thatcher’s name earned a great deal of buzz in 2022 thanks to her role on the hit Showtime series Yellowjackets, and she’ll be further adding to her genre credentials with her role in The Boogeyman. She’ll be playing Sadie, one of Will’s two daughters, but not much is known about the character beyond that.

Vivien Lyra Blair Plays Sawyer

Playing Will’s other daughter, Sawyer, in The Boogeyman is Vivien Lyra Blair. The young actor is only 10 years old, but already she has a number of standout titles and roles on her resume – including the 2018 thriller Bird Box, Robert Rodriguez’s We Can Be Heroes, and the Disney+ Obi-Wan Kenobi series (on which she played young Leia Organa).

David Dastmalchian Plays Lester

Amidst all of the deviations from Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman will at the very least include Lester as a character, and he will be played in the film by David Dastmalchian. We don’t really know much about his role in the movie other than the fact that he is one of Will’s patients and is aware of the titular child-eating monster, but we always expect greatness from the actor, whose recent credits include James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, and a recurring role on MacGyver.

Marin Ireland Plays Rita

Only very briefly featured in The Boogeyman trailer, Marin Ireland’s character in the film remains mostly a mystery, but hopefully that just sets us up for some surprises when the movie hits theaters. Ireland recently appeared in two episodes of the 2022 Julia Roberts series Gaslit (which also includes appearances from Chris Messina), and she has had significant roles on shows including The Umbrella Academy and Y: The Last Man. She even has some Stephen King experience under her belt, having recorded the audiobooks for the novels Sleeping Beauties (co-written by Owen King) and Gwendy’s Final Task (co-written by Richard Chizmar).

Rob Savage Is Directing The Boogeyman Based On A Script By Scott Beck, Bryan Woods And Mark Heyman

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (5)

The Boogeymanfirst started making strides back in 2018 whenA Quiet Placescreenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods became attached to write the script. Later in the project’s development, Mark Heyman – best known for penningBlack SwanandThe Skeleton Twins – came aboard to work on a new draft, but evidently he didn’t perform a page one rewrite. Beck and Woods are still receiving both Story By and Screenplay By credits for the movie.

Set to helm the film is Rob Savage, who was first announced as being attached back in November 2021. Savage is best known for his breakout 2020 Shudder exclusiveHost – ascreenlife feature that centers on a group of friends performing a séance over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Production on The Boogeyman began in early 2022.

The Boogeyman Was Supposed To Be A Hulu Original Before Test Screenings Changed Plans

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (6)

When The Boogeyman first started making real strides towards getting into production, the plan was for the movie to exist as a Hulu exclusive… but that plan changed in January 2023. According to reports, the film performed so well in test screenings that it was decided to move its distribution from streaming to theaters. Hence, the movie will be playing on big screens everywhere starting June 2.

Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates onThe Boogeyman. In the meantime, you can check out our wide variety of Stephen King coverage. You can learn about the long history of King movies and television shows with my Adapting Stephen King column, and scope out our rankings of thebest Stephen King films of all time. As for all of the other projects that are currently in the works in addition toThe Boogeyman, you can keep track of them in ourUpcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide.

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (7)

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Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.

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Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation (2024)

FAQs

Stephen King's The Boogeyman Movie: Release Date, Trailer And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation? ›

A film adaptation of the Stephen King short story “The Boogeyman” is moving away from a planned streaming release on Hulu and will now be a theatrical release from 20th Century Studios, an individual with knowledge of the move told IndieWire. It will open June 2, 2023.

What is The Boogeyman movie about? ›

What happened to The Boogeyman movie? ›

After a few violent attacks, Sadie and Sawyer set fire to the terrifying creature. Seemingly dead, the house also catches fire, but Sadie and her family are able to make it outside to safety. Sadie and Sawyer return to therapy, and Will finally talks about his grief.

Is the new Stephen King movie about The Boogeyman? ›

Based on the 1973 short story of the same name by Stephen King, the film follows a family that becomes haunted by the Boogeyman after a troubled man visits and inadvertently brings the creature to them. The ensemble cast includes Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair, and David Dastmalchian.

Why is Boogeyman rated PG-13? ›

The MPAA gave The Boogeyman a PG-13 rating for terror, violent content, teen drug use and some strong language. As with all horror films, there are scary elements. A big part of The Boogeyman's eeriness stems from the terrifying nature of the titular creature.

Is The Boogeyman a demon? ›

Facts about the Boogeyman Legend

The Boogey is usually an evil creature that is intent on harming people, usually children. The term bogey in the middle of the 19th century was a word for devil or demon. The Boogeyman's personality and appearance can vary greatly depending on the culture and country.

Is The Boogeyman Based on a true story? ›

The boogeyman is not real, but most cultures have some version of the boogeyman myth, although they go by many, many different names. The actual "boogeyman" name most likely originated sometime in the 19th century, but the mythology of these kinds of "monsters" have been around for much longer than that.

Is the Boogeyman scary? ›

The Boogeyman might fall short of its terrifying source material, but a spooky atmosphere and some solid performances help keep the chills coming. If you don't mind spending a lot of time waiting for things to happen, The Boogeyman is worth watching for some solid jump scares.

Who survives the Boogeyman? ›

Lester's children were killed by the titular Boogeyman and in unburdening himself to Will, he unleashes the entity on the Harpers. Sadie seeks answers from Will's wife Rita who uses Sadie as bait to capture the Boogeyman, but she manages to escape.

What Stephen King story is the Boogeyman based on? ›

It is, we learn in the credits, indeed based on the King story of the same name, from his 1978 collection “Night Shift.” Sort of. A couple of the characters in the film share names with characters from the book, and one of them does similar things.

What was Stephen King's last movie? ›

Stephen King's filmography
YearTitleNotes
2012Stuck in Love
2014A Good MarriageBased on the novella of the same name
2016CellBased on the novel of the same name.
2019It Chapter TwoBased on the novel of the same name
12 more rows

Why is Stephen King horror? ›

Stephen King's work is known for its recurring themes and motifs, which have become synonymous with the horror genre. One of the most prominent themes in his work is the concept of fear itself, and how it can manifest in different ways.

What is the next Stephen King horror movie? ›

Summary. Not all upcoming Stephen King adaptations are horror-based; some are crime thrillers, fantasy, and even survival horror. The next adaptation is Salem's Lot, a vampire story, directed by Gary Dauberman and set to release in late 2023 or early 2024.

Why is the kid rated R? ›

Viewers will see intense violence against women, as well as lots of guns and shooting (including by the teen boy), blood spurts, dead bodies, and gore.

Can a 11 year old watch horror? ›

11-13 year olds may be better equipped to navigate the scary movie scene on some level but each child is different. If your child watches something that they say is not scary to them but then starts coming to you at night wanting to sleep closer to you or is having nightmares let their behavior speak for them.

Is John Wick OK for 8 year old? ›

Language wise, a fair amount of f-bombs, but nothing your kids haven't heard before. I would say that John Wick is appropriate for kids 14 and up.

What is the main idea of the Boogeyman? ›

The sixth story in King's first collection, “The Boogeyman” recounts the therapy session from hell. Lester Billings meets with Dr. Harper to unburden his conscience by telling the harrowing story of his family's destruction.

What short story is the Boogeyman based on? ›

Taken directly from the pages of King's exquisite 1978 debut short story collection, Night Shift, "The Boogeyman" tells the story of one of the most loathsome characters (I don't say that lightly,) I've ever come across, as he and his wife, Rita, are afflicted with any parent's worst nightmare.

What is the monster in boogeyman movie? ›

The Boogeyman is the titular main antagonist of the 2023 horror film The Boogeyman, based off the Stephen King short story of the same name. It is a monster of unknown origin that targets and murders entire families, usually ones that have experienced a loss of a family member.

What does the ending of the Boogeyman mean? ›

The Big Picture

The movie centers around Dr. Harper and his family, who become the perfect target for the Boogeyman due to their grief and vulnerabilities. Although the family defeats the Boogeyman in the end, the final scene suggests that the monster may still be lurking, representing the ongoing struggle with grief.

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