I am a huge Stephen King fan, and I always say that there are far more good than bad Stephen King adaptations. However, 2025 has already given us another Stephen King based movie, The Monkey, and I was not keen on that one. But The Long Walk looked pretty interesting. I was digging the premise, and it had Mark Hamill in it, which is always going to get me interested in a movie.
Where to Watch The Long Walk
The Long Walk was released on September 12, 2025. You can stream the film from a digital platform.
The Long Walk Review: A Gripping Dystopian Tale
I found the backstory of The Long Walk to be very interesting. While this is a Stephen King story, it was one that he published under his Richard Bachman pen name, most famous for The Running Man. Also, Stephen King has said that this was the very first story that he wrote; it was not the first one he had published, but there is an interview out there where he says this was the first one he actually wrote, which I think is very interesting.
Plot and Setting of The Long Walk
Ok, lets get to the movie. The Long Walk takes place in a dystopian future where things are pretty damn bleak for most people. Each year, a lottery is held, and people are given the chance to compete to improve their lives by being the last one standing during The Long Walk.
People are given some supplies, and they know the route they have to go. However, those who fall behind or just flat out stop will be executed on the spot, so the prize may be life-changing, but the chances of you losing your life in the quest for it are very high, as there can only be one winner. The movie does a good job of explaining the rules of the contest, but at the same time, it is as if it purposely tries to be vague about the true state of the world and why things are as tough as they are for so many people.
Performances and Characters
I found myself really liking the setting of the movie. I also loved Mark Hamill as The Major, who would pop up every so many miles to do his schtick. Seriously, how can you not love Mark Hamill? The rest of the cast is quite interesting, and the way people change as The Walk goes on is very well done.
However, we do have two main characters in Cooper Hoffman’s Ray and David Jonsson’s Peter, who strike up a friendship. The rest of the people involved are a good mix, from those who are clearly not cut out for this type of thing, and even some who are just straight up assholes, and some who start out as assholes, but make you think there may be more to them.
Final Thoughts: A Strong Stephen King Movie Adaptation
The Long Walk was just a damn fine movie, and as far as Stephen King adaptations go (granted, the show, Welcome to Derry, has not aired yet), this was way, way better than The Monkey. I found myself gripped from the start, and I was legit interested in who was going to make it at the end and also how the friendship between the two main characters was ever going to work out, given that there could only be one winner.
