Yet another Stephen King property is getting a reboot. 1984’s Firestarter, starring a young Drew Barrymore in just her second major role after E.T., is a cult classic, and now – 35 years later – Blumhouse is working on an update of King’s horror novel. American Horror Story actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong is stepping into Barrymore’s shoes to play the titular firestarter, a young girl who develops pyrokinetic powers, and our first look at her in the part has finally been revealed (see below).
Deadline unveiled the image, which captures Armstrong’s Charlie in soot-covered clothes, hinting at her dangerous abilities. The young actress – who has roles in several major upcoming productions, such as American Horror Story: Double Feature, Black Widow and The Tomorrow War – is joined by Zac Efron as Charlie’s father Andy and Michael Greyeyes (Fear the Walking Dead) as assassin John Rainbird, who’s sent to eliminate Charlie and her dad by secret government agency The Shop.
Keith Thomas, who helmed the recent Jeffrey Dean Morgan vehicle The Vigil, directs, with a script from Scott Teems, who also contributed to Blumhouse’s much-anticipated Halloween Kills. Jason Blum produces, along with Paranormal Activity EP Akiva Goldsman, who was originally set to get behind the camera before he was replaced with Thomas. Meanwhile, Martha De Laurentiis – who was an associate producer on the original film – serves as executive producer this time around.
Universal will be handling distribution, though a release strategy has yet to be announced. Production just began late last month in Toronto and will carry on until July, so maybe once filming is complete we’ll get some further glimpses at the remake. Given the original’s huge influence on Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things, it’s surprising it’s taken so long for this new Firestarter to get off the ground. But now that it’s on its way, hopefully it’ll prove to be a surefire hit.