As the Stephen King adaptation renaissance continues, more and more of King’s odds and ends are finding themselves snapped-up for production. The latest: King’s 1999 novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Legendary horror filmmaker George Romero had been attached to a Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon movie adaptation for years, but the project never got out of the woods, and Romero died in 2017. Now Romero’s former wife Chris Romero is bringing the project back to life, with It producer Roy Lee producing.

THR broke the news about the new attempt to revive The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon movie. Chris Romero, It producer Roy Lee, Jon Berg of Vertigo Films and Ryan Silbert of Origin Story are behind the production, which is currently in search of a writer (hit me up, I’ll do it). Tom Gordon isn’t one of King’s most famous works, but it’s enjoyable. It’s also relatively short – at least, it’s short by Stephen King standards.

Here’s the book’s synopsis:

During a six-mile hike on the Maine-New Hampshire branch of the Appalachian Trail, nine-year-old Trisha McFarland quickly tires of the constant bickering between her older brother and her recently divorced mother. But when she wanders off by herself, she becomes lost in a wilderness maze full of peril and terror. As night falls, Trisha has only her ingenuity as a defense against the elements, and only her courage and faith to withstand her mounting fears. For solace she tunes her headphones to broadcasts of Boston Red Sox baseball games and follows the gritty performances of her hero, relief pitcher Tom Gordon. And when the reception begins to fade, Trisha imagines that Tom Gordon is with her—the protector from an enemy who may or may not be imagined…one who is watching her, waiting for her in the dense, dark woods…

While I’m all for new King adaptations, I’ll always be a little sad George Romero never got to make this. Romero and King were friends, having worked together on Creepshow. Romero also adapted King’s The Dark Half, and at one point was attached to adapt both Pet Sematary and The Stand. “Steve and I go way back and he’s a great guy and I wanted to do The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, which is a wonderful story,” Romero said back in 2005. “I’ve actually already written the adaptation and wanted Dakota Fanning for the lead role. But Hollywood thought the story was “too soft”, especially with my name attached to it so it’s on hold for now. But we came very close to doing it! Perhaps one day soon…” Sadly, that day never came. Here’s hoping the new film adaptation finds a worthy successor.

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