Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ long-planned adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter has found a new director, with Variety reporting that Keith Thomas (The Vigil) has signed on to helm the reboot.
Based on the 1980 sci-fi-horror novel, Firestarter follows a father and daughter who are on the run from a secret government agency looking to weaponise the young girl’s pyrokinetic abilities. The book was previously adapted for the big screen in 1984, with Mark L. Lester (Commando) directing David Keith and Drew Barrymore as the two leads.
Blumhouse has been looking to get Firestarter off the ground for several years now, the project having already passed through the hands of Akiva Goldsman (Star Trek: Discovery) and Fatih Akin (In the Fade). However, Thomas is said to have impressed producer Jason Blum at the Toronto International Film Festival with his film The Vigil, which Blumhouse picked up for distribution.
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Firestarter is the second King adaptation to score a director this month, with Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell) signing on to direct a new version of The Dark Half for MGM.
