Alfre Woodard is joining the cast of New Line’s adaptation of Salem’s Lot, the 1975 Stephen King vampire novel of the same name.
She joins previously cast Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Spencer Treat Clark, and Bill Camp.
Gary Dauberman is writing and directing Salem’s Lot which follows young author Ben Mears (Pullman) as he returns to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in order to find inspiration for his next novel — only to discover that the town’s beloved residents have become legions of undead vampires.
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Woodard is set to play Dr. Cody — who, in King’s original novel, was a man. Cody assists Ben Mears, Susan Norton (Leigh) and Matt Burke (Camp) in fighting the spread of vampires.
Dauberman, Michael Bederman, Andrew Childs, and Judson Scott are executive producing the film. Roy Lee and Mark Wolper will also produce the new movie.
The novel, originally published in 1975, was King’s first number-one New York Times bestseller and has been cited by the author himself as his favorite of all of his legendary horror novels. Salem’s Lot is one of many Stephen King adaptations hitting our screens in the near future.
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Chapelwaite, starring Adrien Brody and based on a short story directly connected to Salem’s Lot, premiered on Epix on August 22, and versions of Christine and The Dark Half are also currently in production. The vampire novel was also adapted into two television miniseries in 1979 and 2004, the former of which was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
No release date for the new Salem’s Lot has been announced yet but production is scheduled to begin this month.