Alfre Woodard has boarded the cast of Salem’s Lot, an upcoming movie adaptation at New Line based on the novel by Stephen King. The Oscar-nominated actress has reportedly been cast in the role of Dr. Cody, who’s depicted as a male character named Dr. Jimmy Cody in the original King novel. Another version of Dr. Cody was played by Robert Mammone in the 2004 miniseries adaptation.
Several other cast members for the new Salem’s Lot have also been announced. Lewis Pullman was cast as Ben Mears. Other actors attached include Makenzie Leigh as Susan Norton, Bill Camp as Matt Burke, and Spencer Treat Clark as Mike Ryerson. Like the novel, Salem’s Lot follows Ben Mears returning to his childhood home of Jerusalem’s Lot in search of inspiration for his next book, only to discover his hometown is being preyed upon by a bloodthirsty vampire.
James Wan is producing the new Salem’s Lot movie for New Line Cinema. It and It: Chapter Two writer Gary Dauberman, who’s executive producing, is also on board to both write and direct. Speaking with Slash Film after the project was first announced, Dauberman teased what was to come with this new adaptation.
“I did have a unique way into it but again, I think the book in itself is unique,” he said. “Certainly now, I haven’t seen a scary vampire movie in a long, long time and I’d really love to tackle that. It’s one of my favorite books. It’s one of my favorite Stephen King books. We felt it should have the cinematic treatment that we gave IT; IT was a miniseries as well. The experience of bringing that to the big screen was such a joy that I was so happy we will have the opportunity to do that for Salem’s Lot.”
Published in 1975, the Salem’s Lot novel has long been one of Stephen King’s most well known works. It previously inspired a 1979 miniseries adaptation directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) which starred David Soul as Ben Mears. This was a hit with viewers and was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. The famous scene with the vampire outside of the window remains one of horror’s most terrifying moments.
In 1987, Larry Cohen released the movie A Return to Salem’s Lot. It is considered to be a sequel to the miniseries but it introduces a new cast of characters, furthering the mythology of the paranormal events that happen in Salem’s Lot. TNT aired an unconnected miniseries adaptation in 2004 with Rob Lowe taking on the role of Ben Mears. More recently, references to the series and the fictional town could be spotted in Hulu’s King-inspired Castle Rock series.
For the 1983 movie Cross Creek, Woodard was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards. Her other movie roles include Captain America: Civil War, The Lion King, and Annabelle. The actress has won Emmy Awards for her roles in the TV shows Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Miss Evers’ Boys, and The Practice. She’s also had memorable roles in other small screen titles like True Blood, State of Affairs, and Luke Cage.
Recently, Alfre Woodard starred in the acclaimed movie Clemency, which earned her a BAFTA Award nomination and a Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She also stars with Jason Momoa in Apple TV+’s See and the Netflix movie Fatherhood with Kevin Hart. Woodard can also be seen in the upcoming movie The Gray Man from the Russo Brothers which co-stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans.
Production on Salem’s Lot is now underway in Boston. There isn’t a release date yet set for the feature. This news comes to us from Deadline.