Many of Stephen King’s novels and short stories have been adapted into feature films, TV movies, or miniseries, beginning with his debut novel, Carrie, which was first made into a film by director Brian De Palma in 1976, with Sissy Spacek in the title role. Later adaptations of Carrie include a 2026 TV series on Amazon Prime Video; King served as an executive producer.
The Shining was made into a film by Stanley Kubrick in 1980, with Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in the lead roles. The novel was adapted into a TV miniseries in 1997. In 1986 Rob Reiner adapted King’s short story “The Body” into the film Stand by Me. Reiner also made a film version of the novel Misery in 1990, with James Caan and Kathy Bates in the lead roles.
The Stand was made into a TV miniseries in 1994 and 2020–21. A film version of The Dead Zone, starring Christopher Walken, appeared in 1983, followed by a TV series in 2002–07. Another notable adaptation was the film version of King’s novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption; directed by Frank Darabont, it was released as The Shawshank Redemption in 1994, with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman as costars.
King himself wrote the TV miniseries for The Stand (1994), The Shining (1997), and Lisey’s Story (2021), and he received Emmy Award nominations for The Stand and The Shining.