For decades, Stephen King’s stories have remained some of the most adaptable works in modern fiction, finding new life in film and television with every generation. As Hollywood continues to rediscover the author’s blend of supernatural dread, emotional depth, and character-driven terror, 2025 is shaping up to be one of the best years yet for King adaptations. From large-scale cinematic reimaginings to atmospheric prestige television, the lineup this year demonstrates just how varied King’s storytelling truly is.
Whether grounded in emotional drama or full-tilt horror, these adaptations reflect a renewed commitment to honoring the spirit of his work while interpreting it for contemporary audiences. What makes 2025 particularly exciting is this sheer range of tones and genres. Some projects dive into more philosophical and existential corners, while others embrace social commentary or creature-based scares. This year’s adaptations showcase not only the evolution of King’s influence on pop culture, but also the creativity of the filmmakers taking on these iconic tales.
Ranked below from impressive to the absolute greatest, here’s every Stephen King movie and TV show of 2025.
6
‘The Institute’ (2025 – Present)
The Institute kicks off this year’s slate with a suspense-driven story built on tension, secrecy, and moral ambiguity. The MGM+ horror series follows Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman), a gifted teenage boy who is kidnapped and forced into a clandestine government facility run by Ms. Sigsby (Mary-Louise Parker), where telekinetic and telepathic children are pushed to their limits in the name of “research” that the organization claims is for “saving the world.” Ben Barnes is ex-cop Tim Jamieson, the new night knocker in town who begins to unravel the conspiracy. The adaptation leans heavily into King’s beloved themes of lost innocence and systemic cruelty. With a claustrophobic setting, it turns every hallway and exam room into a pressure cooker.
The series finds its stride in its portrayal of the children themselves. Their resilience, fear, and quiet rebellion are the emotional engine of the story. Their makeshift family and attempts to protect one another despite impossible odds give the tale its heart. Where it finds its faults is through its initial slow pacing, although it picks up in later episodes. Early episodes also struggle with stilted and clunky dialogue, but the actors do their best work with what they have. The TV show’s biggest flaws, however, are its underdeveloped plot devices, like the narrative treatment of the flash drive, and the lack of character background and buildup. Ultimately, The Institute waters down some of the greatest aspects of its source material. However, it is a show with potential that’s worth watching – there’s a reason it’s been renewed for a second season.
5
‘The Running Man’ (2025)
All King silver screen adaptations in 2025 have been excellent, making it difficult to rank them, but coming in last is The Running Man, starring Glen Powell. The film was one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and it didn’t disappoint, but ultimately it was outshone by the next three movies. Marking a bold return to King’s dystopian storytelling, it offers a more faithful interpretation than the 1987 cult classic. While the original leaned heavily into campy sci-fi action, the 2025 version focuses on the book’s sharper social commentary. Set in a near-future dystopian society ruled by an authoritarian media conglomerate, it follows Ben Richards (Powell), a father who, desperate to save his sick daughter, becomes a contestant on a televised manhunt where the winner is awarded $1 billion dollars.
The film’s world-building is one of its strongest assets, painting a bleak landscape that has a lot to say about current economic disparity, corporate greed, and political oppression. What makes the film resonate is its balance between kinetic action and grounded character storytelling. The protagonist’s journey is framed not just as a fight for survival, but as a rebellion against a system built to crush dissent. Each chase sequence and confrontation is charged with emotional stakes, reinforcing the themes of exploitation and resistance. By merging relentless momentum with introspective moments, this adaptation crafts an experience that feels both thrilling and disturbingly plausible.
4
‘The Life of Chuck’ (2024)
Although The Life of Chuck was first screened in 2024 at the Toronto International Film Festival, it wasn’t released in theaters until June 2025, so this list is cheating just a little with its inclusion. Among this year’s lineup, the film stands out for being the least like a traditional Stephen King adaptation – and that’s exactly what makes it so special. Directed by Mike Flanagan and based on a novella told in reverse, it traces the life of an ordinary man named Charles “Chuck” Crantz (Tom Hiddleston), beginning with his death from a brain tumor at age 39 and ending with his childhood. This unconventional structure pays off through its character-driven approach. Each segment peels back another layer of Chuck’s past, revealing how his seemingly simple life is threaded with wonder and heartbreak.
The movie takes viewers on a meditative journey about the beauty and fragility of everyday existence, highlighting the magic in the aspects of life that might not seem so extraordinary but are – the tiny moments and simplest choices that create our world and who we are. Instants of cosmic magnitude collide with mundane slices of family, childhood, and identity. The film achieves a quiet resonance with strong performances and a carefully crafted tone. Masterfully balancing whimsy and melancholy with ease, The Life of Chuck is a beautiful reminder that whole universes exist in each one of us.
3
‘The Monkey’ (2025)
King’s shorter works often translate into some of his most effective screen horror, and Oz Perkins’ The Monkey proves that once again. Theo James shines in a dual role as identical twin brothers Hal and Bill, who reconnect when the murderous toy monkey that ripped their family apart in childhood causes a new string of gruesome deaths 25 years after they trapped it in a well. Capturing King’s knack for turning ordinary objects into vessels of terror, every rattling cymbal strike feels like a countdown. With a visual approach that’s grounded and tactile, the unsettling toy feels like a real presence rather than a gimmick. The adaptation blends supernatural horror and dark humor to bring to life one of the strongest portrayals of family trauma in recent years.
This is precisely what makes the movie land – not just its scares or wit, but the emotional baggage tied to them. What begins as a creepy childhood memory spirals into a nuanced exploration of generational trauma and unresolved guilt. Surprisingly, The Monkey also presents an unusually optimistic, or, more accurately, an accepting and humorous view of death and grief. Instead of portraying death as a purely terrifying evil, the movie treats it as an inevitable, random, and absurd fact of life that one must ultimately learn to embrace.
2
‘It: Welcome to Derry’ (2025 – Present)
Set in 1962, at the height of the Cold War, It: Welcome to Derry sees a local military base determined to create weapons to beat the Soviets. Enter Captain Leroy Hanlon (Jovan Adepo), Mike Hanlon’s grandfather, who has just returned from Korea to work on this top-secret project in Derry, which brings him into the orbit of fellow soldier and military asset Dick Hallorann (Chris Chalk), who King fans will recognize as the future head chef of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Meanwhile, a boy named Matty (Miles Ekhardt) has been missing for three months, and the only person who seems to care is his one true friend, Lily (Clara Stack), a young girl haunted by her father’s untimely death and dubbed “loony” by her peers. After she manages to loop in a group of other kids to look into his disappearance, sinister events and gruesome deaths unfold.
Welcome to Derry expands the It mythos in ways fans have been craving, offering a prequel series that dives deeper into the town’s cursed history and Pennywise’s reign of terror. The series treats Derry itself as a character – haunted, fragmented, and shaped by a cycle of violence no one seems to acknowledge. Instead of relying solely on Pennywise-centric scares, the show focuses on the slow creep of dread that infects the town’s everyday life, enriching the universe without leaning into familiar beats from the films. Its period setting adds a fresh layer, blending nostalgic Americana with an undercurrent of mounting terror, and making pre-Civil Rights racial inequities and prejudices a key part of the narrative.
1
‘The Long Walk’ (2025)
The Long Walk earns the top spot by delivering a stark, emotionally crushing vision of dystopia. The premise is chillingly simple: Fifty teenage boys, one from each state, are chosen at random for an annual televised walking competition where stopping, even for a moment, can mean execution. Escorted by armed guards, the teens must maintain a pace of three miles per hour for days, and The Walk ends when only one boy remains. The film’s ower lies in its stark minimalism – there are no elaborate monsters, jump scares, or supernatural twists, only the terror of an oppressive regime and the breaking point of human will. Its relentless pace mirrors the walk itself, building dread step by step.
What sets this adaptation apart is its character focus. As the walkers form alliances and confront their darkest thoughts, the narrative becomes a powerful meditation on youth, human vulnerability and strength, and the horror of state-sanctioned violence. After a closer look, it reveals a critique of capitalism, particularly the system’s exploitative nature and the illusion of upward mobility. The performances are intimate and raw, drawing viewers into the characters’ internal struggles as much as their physical ordeal. WIth its mixture of social commentary, emotional intensity, and unflinching tone, The Long Walk emerges not just as the strongest Stephen King adaptation of 2025, but as one of the most affecting ever brought to screen.