6 Stephen King Adaptations That Need Prequel Shows After Welcome To Derry

Published Aug 30, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel. There are a few more Stephen King adaptations that would benefit from the prequel treatment, like It: Welcome to Derry did for It. It: Welcome to Derry premiered in October 2025 and was recently renewed for a second season, giving viewers a chance to spend more time in the creepy, clown-haunted Maine town. It was an unusual move to make a prequel series to one of King's stories, but not actually based on one of his stories. On TV, only Castle Rock, Firestarter: Rekindled, and Creepshow have made stories out of King's work, but aren't based on his works. Welcome to Derry is the only one to be a direct prequel. Whether the show worked for you or not, Welcome to Derry was a fascinating experiment into the lore-heavy It story, and it would be great to see similar explorations of other King adaptations. The horror icon tales often start in media res, with someone stumbling into a terrible hotel, house, or town, and a prequel series could be a great way to fill out the wider story hinted at in these shows and movies. The Shining (1980) Stanley Kubrick's The Shining could absolutely use a prequel series, and if the worry is that King never liked Kubrick's film, then perhaps a prequel giving it a little more context would be just the thing. There is a sequel to the story after all, with Doctor Sleep; maybe director Mike Flanagan would be willing to do yet another King project and do The Shining prequel. When Jack Torrance arrives at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, it's clear that there is already something sinister going on, and the deaths of the former caretakers indicate that things have been wrong here for a long time. A prequel could follow one of the other caretakers who went mad, drawing parallels between their story and Jack's. It could go even further into the past and explore the construction of the Overlook Hotel. It's hinted at, in different ways in the book and the film, that the hotel has been cursed since its construction, perhaps a result of being built on Indian burial grounds or land. A period piece set during this construction would be a terrifying and unique exploration of the well-known story. Pet Sematary (1989) Pet Sematary is one of King's scariest novels, and though it has a surprisingly robust film franchise with two direct adaptations and two sequels, none of them have really stood out. The story in each film is some variation of a man losing someone close in a tragic accident, burying them in a cursed graveyard believing it will resurrect them, then confronting the horrific entity that now resides in the animated corpse of their loved one. The pet cemetery in the films hides an ancient burial ground of the Indians who used to reside there. Judd, a wise, elderly figure in the novel, knows the history of the ancient burial ground, and dissuades the protagonist from using it. A prequel based on Judd's experience would be a great way to explore the history of the sematary. In the book, Judd tells the main character a story of a World War II soldier brought back to life after dying in battle. He briefly explains the terror wrought on the town when he came back, and this would make for a thrilling prequel show, one which would share a similar setting with It: Welcome to Derry. Misery (1990) In Misery, a famed author, Paul Sheldon, suffers a severe accident while driving in a snowstorm. He's taken in by former nurse and current shut-in, Annie Wilkes, his self-proclaimed biggest fan. Paul quickly realizes the depths of Annie's obsession with him and his work, which culminate in her attempts to kill herself and Paul. Annie is a terribly frightening figure. She's dangerous and capable, and hard to predict, but there's something sadly sympathetic about her. You want to know Annie, maybe because it feels like if you know her, you can get her to stop from hobbling a man's legs. Whatever the reason, a prequel based on Annie's early life would be excellent. We've seen a few versions of young Annie Wilkes in The Monkey and Castle Rock, but they've been very different interpretations of the character. What the film needs is a series that tries to understand what kind of nurse would turn her anger and delusions on the patients she was supposed to save. Needful Things (1993) Credit: MovieStillsDB Needful Things itself deserves the TV treatment. The story takes place over several weeks, or months, depending on your interpretation, and the slow boil of resentment between the people in town is critical for the explosive back half of the story to work. A miniseries would be able to draw out the tension between everyone who shops at the devilish "Needful Things" store. Barring that, leaving us with just the 1993 film starring Ed Harris and Max von Sydow, then a prequel series would do the trick. At the end of the tale, Leland Gaunt, the antagonist of the book and film, goes on with his work, despite being thwarted in Castle Rock, Maine, where the story takes place. The implication is that Gaunt has opened up shop numerous times before, so a prequel could follow one of these "grand openings". In Needful Things, Gaunt's plans are stopped before complete victory. The prequel could show what exactly happens when all his machinations fall into place. 1408 (2007) 1408 is another King story where someone stumbles upon an ancient horror, and they are just the latest in a line of poor victims who have fallen into a Venus flytrap. In this short story, turned into an underrated, tidy horror film in 2007, Mike Enslin is a non-fiction travel writer specializing in haunted locations. Long since disillusioned with his career and the prospect of actual ghosts, Mike visits the notorious Dolphin Hotel in New York City, where he's told he should avoid staying in Room 1408. As Mr. Olin, the hotel's manager, explains, Room 1408 has always been trouble. A prequel TV show could explain exactly why 1408 came to be such a troubling room after all. It's a contemporary story, meaning that the legend behind Room 1408 could come from a unique time period in New York City's history, where it was just beginning to gentrify. It's a setting that would offer some compelling horror concepts. The Outsider (2020) HBO Max's The Outsider is a 10-episode miniseries adapting the 2018 novel. In the show, Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) is a cop in Flint City, Oklahoma who is investigating the gruesome murder of a young boy. Video evidence and testimony indicate local coach Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman)is the killer. However, other video evidence and other sworn testimony indicate there is no possible way that Terry could have been the killer. This contradiction leads Ralph to unravel a terrifying mystery that can only end in more bloodshed. The entity at the center of The Outsider has been operating for quite some time, judging by its brazenness and skill. A prequel could find the entity in another town, causing terror and fear, and unlike in The Outsider, the entity will end up succeeding in its hunt. We could start even earlier and show the origins of the entity in the same way It: Welcome to Derry explains the origins of Stephen King's Pennywise in greater detail. Birthdate September 21, 1947 Birthplace Portland, Maine, USA Notable Projects The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, It, The Stand, Misery, The Dark Tower, Mr. Mercedes, Carrie Height 6 feet 4 inches Professions Author, Screenwriter, Producer, Director, Actor