The industry’s Stephen King obsession is still in full effect, and there’s only going to be more adaptations of the horror icon’s work than ever before thanks to the advent and unstoppable rise of the streaming service. We’re getting dozens upon dozens of movies and TV shows across the theatrical, cable, network and streaming roster looking at the sheer volume of titles in development, with Epix’s Chapelwaite up next.
The ten-episode series is an interpretation of King’s 1978 short story Jerusalem’s Lot, and as you may have inferred from the title, it is indeed a prequel of sorts to Salem’s Lot, which in itself is getting a remake that’s reportedly eying Jake Gyllenhaal and Christoph Waltz for the two lead roles, and if you’re familiar with the premise then you may have an idea of where Chapelwaite may or may not be heading.
Academy Award winner Adrien Brody headlines the cast as Captain Charles Boone, who decides to relocate his family to the quiet town of Preacher’s Corners, which is of course in King’s home state of Maine. Grieving for the death of his wife at sea, Charles soon discovers that moving into his ancestral home may not have been the wisest move, forcing him to reckon with the secrets and revelations of both his past and that of the Boone clan at large.
Modern horror doesn’t tend to veer into the Gothic all that often, which should ensure that Chapelwaite marks a change of pace from the typical Stephen King stories that tend to simply slap a supernatural or mystical element onto an everyday setting. His career may not have reached the heights predicted for it two decades ago, but Brody remains a phenomenal actor if he’s handed strong enough material, with the chilling tale of a troubled family set to present him with what could be his meatiest role in a long time.
If you enjoyed the trailer, then the bad news is that Chapelwaite doesn’t premiere on Epix until August 22nd, but the good news is that it also means we should be getting at least one more full-length promo between now and then.