The Long Walk

The Long Walk is a 2025 American dystopian survival thriller film directed and produced by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by JT Mollner. It is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Stephen King (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). The film stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Roman Griffin Davis, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill. Set in a dystopian 1970s, the film follows fifty boys in an annually televised competitive walking marathon, meant to inspire viewers. Each boy must maintain a pace of three miles per hour (4.8 km/h) of nonstop walking for days, and failure to do so after three warnings results in death. The boy who lasts the longest wins a large cash prize and the fulfilment of one wish of his choice. The Long Walk was released in the United States by Lionsgate on September 12, 2025. The film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed $54 million worldwide on a budget of $20 million.