Stephen King's Salem's Lot Movie Just Added A Shawshank Redemption Star

William Sadler has a phenomenal track record when it comes to Stephen King movies. Seemingly a good luck charm of sorts for director Frank Darabont, the actor has supporting roles in The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, and all three are considered to be among the greatest King adaptations of all time. Now it appears that writer/director Gary Dauberman is borrowing some of that magic for his upcoming take on Salem's Lot, as Sadler himself has confirmed that he has a part to play in the production.

In the last few weeks we've been hearing casting announcements about Salem's Lot via trade reports, but William Sadler has taken straight to social media with the news that he has joined the cast of the upcoming film. Teasing more updates to come, the actors wrote,

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William Sadler is now one of two Stephen King adaptation veterans who are a part of the production on Salem's Lot. Gary Dauberman previously wrote the screenplays for both IT and IT: Chapter Two, and Bill Camp has signed on as a follow up to his role in the 2020 HBO miniseries The Outsider.

William Sadler in The shawshank Redemption

Based on what was Stephen King's second published novel, Salem's Lot tells the story of a young writer who returns to his hometown with the intention of writing a book inspired by a traumatizing event from his childhood. Instead what he comes face to face with is a vampire invasion that slowly starts to swallow the whole town. Lewis Pullman has been cast as the protagonist, Ben Mears, and in addition to William Sadler and Bill Camp the supporting cast includes Makenzie Leigh, Spencer Treat Clark, and Alfre Woodard.

What we sadly don't know right now is what role William Sadler will be playing in Salem's Lot, but there are some choice roles open that he would be a great fit for. One could easily see him playing either of the two primary antagonists in the story – the vampire Kurt Barlow or his human familiar Richard Straker – and it would also be amazing to see him play Father Callahan: a priest who sees his faith shaken by his town's new monstrous presence.

Salem's Lot is being developed by New Line, and while it sounds like cameras are already rolling on the production, what remains an unknown is when we might actually get to see it. When the studio does finally announce a release date, however, you can be sure that we'll have the news for you as soon as possible here on CinemaBlend. In the meantime, if you're curious about all of the Stephen King adaptations that are currently in the works, head on over to our Upcoming Stephen King Movies And TV guide.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.