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Stephen King is still out promoting his newest novel, Under the Dome, and I have to say that this tour has been pretty awesome so far. I haven’t seen King at any of his stops, or even read the book in question, but as the author keeps doing these promotional appearances, he keeps divulging exciting new tidbits of information on other projects. Earlier, he revealed a new Dark Tower novel, details on an Under the Dome miniseries, and gave us an update on his big screen version of Cell.

Each of those were big news, but they pale in comparison to his latest revelation: King has been mulling over writing a sequel to The Shining.

The Torontoist website offers up the following:

“Then King dropped a fan bombshell on the crowd by casually describing a novel idea he began working on last summer. Seems King was wondering whatever happened to Danny Torrance of The Shining, who when readers last saw him was recovering from his ordeal at the Overlook Hotel at a resort in Maine with fellow survivors Wendy Torrance and chef Dick Halloran (who dies in the Kubrick film version). King remarked that though he ended his 1977 novel on a positive note, the Overlook was bound to have left young Danny with a lifetime’s worth of emotional scars. What Danny made of those traumatic experiences, and with the psychic powers that saved him from his father at the Overlook, is a question that King believes might make a damn fine sequel.

The title for King’s proposed sequel? Doctor Sleep.“

A sequel to The Shining would be pretty interesting, although I’m curious as to what the conflict would be in this new book. King burnt The Overlook hotel to the ground at the end of his novel, as I recall, so it seems like a sequel would have to go in an entirely different direction.

Variety brings us news today about that mini-series adaptation of Stephen King’s newest novel, Under the Dome, that I mentioned last week. Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks TV has optioned the novel and hopes to release it on cable.

Spielberg won’t be directing, but he will be Executive Producing alongside King and Stacey Snider. The company has started to meet with potential writers for the project.

I’ll bring you more on this one as details slowly come into focus. In the meantime, if you’re like me you haven’t even cracked open this novel yet. Here’s what it’s about.

Under the Dome revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force field suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine. As the locals fight for their survival, the town descends into warring factions led by enigmatic characters.

This isn’t the first time Spielberg and King have attempted to collaborate on a project. Spielberg has had an option on King’s The Talisman for over twenty years, but has never managed to bring the book to the silver or small screen. Let’s hope things go more smoothly with this adaptation.

It’s been a busy week for Stephen King news. His latest tome, Under the Dome, is now out (it’s massive–I probably won’t get around to reading it until next month), but there’s more good news for fans of horror’s most recognizable name. Read on for the details.

First up, King has revealed that Under the Dome is getting adapted for television. The book will be turned into a miniseries for HBO (which is a great choice, because it means nothing will have to be cut to appease the FCC). No word on when this will go into production or who’s involved, but I’ll keep you posted.

King also says that he’s finished the screenplay for the big-screen adaptation of his novel Cell. This was the project Eli Roth was attached to write and direct at one point, but then left.

And finally, perhaps the biggest news of all was this tidbit posted on King Super-Site Lilja’s Library:

“Stephen has given me permission to pass along that he has an idea for a new Dark Tower book, the working title of which will be THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE. He has not yet started this book and anticipates that it will be a minimum of eight months before he is able to begin writing it.”

“It will center around supporting characters and revolve around some important events between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla.”

Check out the clip below to hear more from the man himself.

Fans looking forward to JJ Abrams’ cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower got some disappointing news last night. Abrams and partner Damon Lindelof announced back in May that they were seriously working on bringing the massive tale to a theater near you. Now, Lindelof tells USA Today that he’s backing away from the project.

“You’ll be hard-pressed to find a huger fan of The Dark Tower than me, but that’s probably the reason that I shouldn’t be the one to adapt it. After working six years on Lost, the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time. I’m such a massive Stephen King fan that I’m terrified of screwing it up.“

Linedlof then adds “I’d do anything to see those movies written by someone else. My guess is they will get made because they’re so incredible. But not by me.“

Disappointing news for sure. The things cited as reasons not to do it are the very same reasons why these guys should be doing it. I’d rather have someone who loves the source material to death handling the adaptation than some dickhead gun-for-hire Hollywood director looking to make a name for himself.

I’ve never read Dolan’s Cadillac, but I guess I’ll have to at some point since the cinematic adaptation is looming on the horizon. Hopefully it’s better than From a Buick 8–which I finally gave up on after like 200 pages…

Anyway, the trailer and official synopsis for the film are now online–as are a bunch of new still photos. The trailer looks okay–I wasn’t knocked out of my seat by it, but it didn’t exactly give off the “oh my god this is gonna suck” vibe of The Mangler, either. I guess it’s good to see Christian Slater still working. Remember when this guy was going to be the next Nicholson?

This is the official synopsis for the film:

“Based on Stephen King’s eponymous short story, Dolan’s Cadillac is a dark tale of murderous and unrepentant revenge. A modern twist on the Edgar Allan Poe classic ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ Dolan’s Cadillac proves that revenge really is a dish best served cold.

Robinson is a non-descript middle school teacher whose beloved wife, Elizabeth, witnesses an execution in the desert and becomes a target for the executioner, notorious Las Vegas crime boss Jimmy Dolan. Dolan’s vast wealth was accumulated through his human trafficking operation, a lucrative business he will not jeopardize.

The mobster succeeds in having Elizabeth killed before she can testify against him. Without a witness to the murders, Dolan goes free.

The Knowledge that Dolan is behind Elizabeth’s death fosters in Robinson an insatiable thirst for revenge. However, Dolan is virtually untouchable traveling only in his custom Cadillac with tank-like protection.

On a steep descent into madness, Robinson begins seeing visions of his dead wife wherever he goes. Spurred on by Elizabeth’s spectre, Robinson begins his elaborate plan to kill Jimmy Dolan.

The Cadillac that was once his armor may now become his tomb.

This is vengeance, Stephen King style.”