Stephen King’s novella Rat is headed to the big screen, Deadline reports.
Isaac Ezban will direct a film adaptation of the novella, which was collected in King’s 2020 book, If It Bleeds. The novella follows Drew Larson, a short story writer who retreats to a cabin to write a novel, and strikes a deal with a rat who offers to help him to get over his writer’s block if Larson agrees to have a loved one die. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the novella, “There are the usual hallucinatory doings, a destiny-altering rodent, and of course a writer protagonist who makes a deal with the devil for success that he thinks will outsmart the fates. No such luck, of course.”
Ezban, known for his films The Incident and The Similars, will direct the adaptation from a screenplay by Jeff Howard, who previously wrote the script for the 2017 movie based on King’s novel Gerald’s Game.
The adaptation will be the third novella from If It Bleeds to be adapted for the screen. Mr. Harrigan’s Phone formed the basis for a 2022 film directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Donald Sutherland and Jaeden Martell, while The Life of Chuck was adapted into a 2024 movie directed by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom Hiddleston and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Ezban told Deadline, “I see this as a survival movie about writer’s block, and also as the ultimate tale of our craft vs. our people, our creations vs. our loved ones, our art vs. our family, a theme I can very personally relate to. King has always inspired me as a filmmaker and a storyteller, and I feel honored to bring this tale to life.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
