Stephen King’s ‘Billy Summers’ To Be Adapted by J.J. Abrams and Leonardo DiCaprio

Grab your popcorn, everyone— Stephen King’s ‘Billy Summers’ is getting a film adaptation from J.J. Abrams and Leonardo DiCaprio!

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jj abrams and leonardo dicaprio to adapt stephen king novel 'billy summers'

According to Deadline, the rights to Stephen King’s 2021 bestselling novel Billy Summers have been acquired by Warner Bros. and will be adapted into a feature film. J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way are set to produce.

This news comes almost one year to the day that it was announced the novel was in development to be turned into a ten-episode limited series. Should things pan out the way many are expecting them to, the Billy Summers adaptation will be directed by Abrams, with DiCaprio starring as the title character.

Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovits are tapped to write the screenplay for the upcoming adaptation. Billy Summers isn’t the only upcoming Stephen King adaptation fans can look forward to. King’s The Boogeyman will hit theaters June 2, and a remake of Salem’s Lot is expected to premiere later this year as well.

Billy Summers

image of 'Billy Summers' book cover by Stephen King
IMAGE VIA SCRIBNER

Though Stephen King is often lauded as the King of Horror, Billy Summers is a riveting crime thriller about a killer for hire who only takes jobs if the assignment is a truly bad person. Though he’s the best in the business, Billy is ready to step away from killing. But first, he decides to take on one last job that’ll come with a generous payout. Given that Billy is one of the most talented snipers in the world, this last job should be simple, right? Wrong.

King’s novel is a thriller about luck, fate, and love. Can King’s complex antihero capture this one last shot at redemption?


We here at Bookstr can’t get enough of Stephen King. Stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming adaptation of Billy Summers, as well as The Boogeyman and Salem’s Lot.

FEATURED IMAGE VIA SAVANNAH SWANSON, BOOKSTR