A Dark Stephen King Fantasy Epic Is Becoming A TV Series With An Unlikely Director

A Stephen King adaptation has just found new life. The author's 2022 book "Fairy Tale" was originally eyed as a feature film. Now though? It's being retooled as a TV show by the folks at A24. This information comes courtesy of the folks at Deadline, who've revealed that Paul Greengrass ("Jason Bourne," "Captain Phillips") is expected to be involved as a director and producer. Peter Rice ("Saturday Night") is also on board as an executive producer.

What's interesting here is that Greengrass was originally attached to direct "Fairy Tale" as a movie when he won the rights to the novel in 2022. While the new report notes that Greengrass' deal has not closed yet, it seems like things are headed in that direction. So, it appears as though the Oscar-nominee has really tuned into the material and wants in on the action, be it on the big or small screen.

It's also noted that the project morphed into a TV show because King's original novel — which clocks in at over 600 pages — is simply too much for one movie to handle. Plenty of the author's works have gone the TV route, such as "The Stand" or HBO's "The Outsider," which King is a fan of. As for the specifics of the story? The synopsis for the book reads as follows:

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was 10, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself — and his dad. Then, when Charlie is 17, he meets a dog named Radar and his aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.

Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.

Greengrass, for his part, is a wildly accomplished, highly-acclaimed filmmaker. He is best known as the shepherd of the "Jason Bourne" franchise, leading to his long working relationship with Matt Damon. (The duo also collaborated on "Green Zone.") Greengrass has additionally helmed celebrated hits such as "United 93," "Captain Phillips," and "22 July," among others. Unfortunately, his most recent film "News of the World" kind of got buried thanks to the pandemic.

So, in a sense, having a filmmaker as accomplished as Greengrass behind the scenes for a Stephen King adaptation seems like a no-brainer. But "Fairy Tale" is more of a dark fantasy epic that features a lot of what one might expect from such a story written by King. On the flipside, Greengrass is known for his kinetic, gritty, very modern style of filmmaking. This material would lend itself to an '80s throwback style, it seems. Does that mean Greengrass is incapable? Of course not. It's not fair to put such a talented filmmaker in a box, but it's certainly worth considering.

For what it's worth, Greengrass has long wanted to tackle King's work. Back in 2013, he was rumored to be working on a movie version of "The Stand" for Warner Bros. That never came to pass but now he's going to get the chance to scratch this itch in a very different way.

"Fairy Tale" does not currently have a premiere date, but stay tuned.