The One Stephen King Book The Author Wants To See As A Movie

Stephen King is one of the most prolific authors of our time. Not only does the man churn out work at a blistering pace, but in terms of sheer name recognition, he's surely one of the most well-known authors in history. That is in no small part thanks to the fact that many, many of his novels and short stories have been adapted for the screen over the years, both as movies and TV shows. Yet for all of those adaptations, there's still a book that King wrote that he believes would make a great movie. It just hasn't happened yet.

King spoke with Netflix's Tudum in 2022 in honor of the release of "Mr. Harrigan's Phone," which was directed by John Lee Hancock. During the conversation, the author was asked if there were any of his books that hadn't yet been adapted for the screen that he felt would be well suited for such a thing. His answer? 1995's "Rose Madder." Here's what King had to say about it at the time:

"I don't think anybody ever optioned Rose Madder, which I thought would've made a great movie."

King is at least half right there. While the book in question never actually made it to the big screen, a version of "Rose Madder" was announced in 2011 from Palomar Pictures and Grosvenor Park, with Gary McKendry ("Killer Elite") set to direct the film. It never came to pass and, as of this writing, it's unclear if the people behind that adaptation still have the rights, or if they're back in King's possession. 

Either way, this is one of the author's stories still waiting for the right director to adapt it. For those who may not be familiar with the source material, the synopsis for the novel reads as follows:

Rosie Daniels flees from her husband, Norman after 14 years in an abusive marriage. During one bout of violence, Norman caused Rosie to miscarry their only child. Escaping to a distant city, Rosie establishes a new life and forges new relationships. Norman Daniels, a police officer with a reputation for cruelty, uses his law-enforcement connections to track his wayward wife.

Based on that synopsis alone, it's clear that there is a good reason this book has never made it to the screen. "Rose Madder" deals with some pretty tough material, from an abusive marriage to the miscarriage of a child. Not that King is any stranger to tough material but, even so, this one will take a delicate balance to bring to life. Not only that, but it's also not one of King's most talked-about books. Something like "It" or "The Shining" comes with some instant name recognition (even if King hates that movie). This one, not so much.

This is far from the only book of King's that has yet to be turned into a movie or TV show. King estimates in that same interview that "Maybe 25 percent" of his catalog has not been optioned for an adaptation. Some will never make it to screen, such as his 1977 novel "Rage." Beyond that, many of the others that have yet to get the Hollywood treatment may still, it's only a matter of time. King, speaking in that same piece, explained that just because someone gets the rights to something doesn't mean it's going to get made — not by a long shot.

"You know, there's a big difference between options and actually getting a movie made. You plant the seeds and someone comes along and says, 'I'll buy this seed from you,' and we have a deal where people don't pay anything for the option anyway because I like to have some control and I like to have a little more money on the back end if something gets made."

You can grab a copy of "Rose Madder" from Amazon for the Kindle, Audible, or on paperback.