Stephen King's Firestarter Trailer: Blumhouse Is Bringing The Heat With This Upcoming Remake

Stephen King is haunting us with an explosive new nightmare, "Firestarter," a Blumhouse and Universal film from director Keith Thomas ("The Vigil"). The story follows a young girl with pyrokinetic powers, desperately evading capture from a government agency that wants to use her gift as a weapon. If this sounds a little familiar and your mind is resurfacing memories of other stories with shady government agencies and little girls on the run, then you're certainly on the right track. "Firestarter" was a source of inspiration for the Duffer Brothers when they began developing "Stranger Things," and even gets a couple of homages throughout the show's four seasons. All in all, there's something evergreen about villainous suits hunting down unusual children with supernatural abilities, so it's no wonder this story has found its way back to the big screen.

"Firestarter" not only takes its plot from the 1980s Stephen King novel of the same name, but also serves as a remake of the 1984 film, which starred Drew Barrymore in the lead role. Might we have another rising star on the horizon with the new adaptation? "Firestarter" stars Ryan Kiera Armstrong ("American Horror Story: Double Feature," "The Tomorrow War") as the fiery little girl in question, with Zac Efron ("Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile; The Greatest Showman") and Sydney Lemmon ("Fear the Walking Dead," "Succession") as her parents. You can check out the trailer below!

As if raising kids isn't hard enough, poor Zac Efron and Sydney Lemmon have to deal with their daughter's ability to set things on fire with her mind. On the bright side, she hasn't yet reached her teenage years when the film kicks off, so there might be hope for them yet! The flame-filled trailer sees young Charlie (Armstrong) grappling with her dangerous abilities, as her parents struggle to keep the secret from unsuspecting strangers and most importantly, from the shady organization that would take her away. Making matters much more difficult, Charlie's powers tend to ignite (ha) when she gets emotional, and she can't quite seem to get a handle on harnessing her gift. Here's a full synopsis for more details:

For more than a decade, parents Andy (Zac Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, which is triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family's location, a mysterious operative (Michael Greyeyes) is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans.

The film is directed by Keith Thomas based on a screenplay by Scott Teems ("Halloween Kills"). Jason Blum ("Halloween", "The Invisible Man") and Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind," "The Dark Tower") serve as producers. Oh, and by the way, horror fans might be interested to learn that the score for "Firestarter" comes from none other than the legendary horror composer himself, John Carpenter. He'll be joined his fellow "Halloween" composers Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies on the project. This is kind of a full circle moment from the horror legend, who was once offered the chance to direct this story back in 1981, when the original film was in development, before being passed over for Mark L. Lester.

As the pandemic era rages on and the industry reshapes around it, "Firestarter" is the latest in a growing lineup of Universal films to get a day-and-date release. Like "The Boss Baby: Family Business," "Halloween Kills" and this weekends JLo romcom, "Marry Me," this film will arrive simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock. Along with Efron, Lemmon and Armstrong, the film also stars Kurtwood Smith ("Amityville: The Awakening"), John Beasley ("The Purge: Anarchy"), and Gloria Reuben ("Lincoln," "Mr. Robot").

"Firestarter" debuts in theaters and on Peacock on May 13, 2022.