Stephen King’s Rat Movie Adaptation Moves Forward with New Team
Stephen King’s stories continue to inspire filmmakers around the world, and one of his most recent tales is finally making its way to the screen. Deadline reports that Rat, a short story from King’s 2020 collection If It Bleeds, is officially in development as a feature film. Isaac Ezban, known for Mal de Ojo and Párvulos, is set to direct, working from a screenplay by Jeff Howard, a longtime collaborator of Mike Flanagan on projects like Midnight Mass, Gerald’s Game, Oculus and The Haunting of Hill House.
The adaptation is being produced by Jay Van Hoy, who worked on The Witch and The Lighthouse, along with Fernando Ferro and Paul Perez, who previously helped bring King’s Doctor Sleep to the screen. The involvement of this creative team suggests that Rat may lean into the kind of unsettling and atmospheric horror that has defined some of the best King adaptations.
A Tale of Writers and Dark Bargains
Like many King stories, Rat places a struggling writer at the center of the horror. Drew Larson is an academic with one acclaimed short story to his name, but every attempt at writing a novel has ended in disaster both mentally and physically. Convinced he finally has a winning idea, he retreats to his family’s remote cabin to finish a Western thriller.
When isolation, illness, and a relentless storm begin to unravel him, Drew encounters a rat with an extraordinary offer. His writer’s block will vanish, but in exchange, someone Drew loves will die. This sinister bargain twists the Monkey’s Paw motif into something deeply personal, exploring how far someone might go in the name of artistic success and what it means to sacrifice family for ambition.
From Ben Stiller to Isaac Ezban
The project has been floating around Hollywood for years. Back in 2019, Ben Stiller acquired the rights with plans to direct, produce, and star in the film. That version never materialized, leaving Rat in limbo. Now, the adaptation is back on track under Ezban’s vision.
Ezban, known for his inventive and psychologically intense style, shared his excitement:
“Stephen King has always been my favorite writer, ever since I started reading horror as a teenager. Rat remains one of my favorite stories he has ever created. It is the perfect match, a dark, intimate, bizarre, and deeply unsettling story that gets under your skin. I see this as a survival movie about writer’s block, and also as the ultimate tale of our craft versus our people, our creations versus our loved ones, our art versus our family.”
The producers added that Ezban and Howard are the right team to capture both the terror and the humanity that make King’s stories endure.
Where Rat Fits Among King Adaptations
Stephen King’s short stories have often provided fertile ground for film and television. Classics like Stand by Me (The Body), The Shawshank Redemption (Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption), and 1408 all originated as short fiction. In recent years, Netflix found success with adaptations of 1922 and Gerald’s Game.
Rat has the potential to stand alongside those works. While smaller in scope than King’s sprawling novels, its mix of supernatural horror and raw human conflict makes it ripe for a tense, character-driven film. Fans of King’s explorations of writers in peril, such as The Shining, Secret Window and Misery, will find familiar but refreshing territory here.
Looking Ahead
With Ezban directing and Howard adapting, Rat looks to be in strong hands. Casting has yet to be announced, but the role of Drew Larson offers a meaty opportunity for an actor capable of portraying both desperation and hubris.
No release date has been set, but now that the project is in active development, fans of King’s work can finally look forward to seeing Rat brought to life. It could be the next in a long line of adaptations that prove King’s short stories are just as powerful on screen as his novels.
