The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: JT Mollner to write and direct Stephen King adaptation

Stephen King’s psychological horror novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was published in 1999, and it was quickly announced that the film adaptation rights were in the hands of one of my all-time favorite filmmakers: George A. Romero, who had previously worked with King on the Creepshow films, The Dark Half, and other adaptations that didn’t make it into production with Romero at the helm (like Pet Sematary and The Stand). Unfortunately, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon ended up being another unmade Romero / King collaboration… but now, it looks like a film adaptation of the book might finally happen, as Lionsgate has optioned the rights for writer/director JT Mollner. Mollner recently got a lot of positive attention for his horror movie Strange Darling, and he wrote the screenplay for the upcoming King adaptation The Long Walk.

Roy Lee, producer of The Long Walk and Strange Darling, is reteaming with Mollner for this project. Lee has also produced It, It Chapter Two, Doctor Sleep, and Salem’s Lot. Ryan Silbert and Andrew Childs are also producing the film, as is Romero’s ex-wife Christine Romero. A press release notes, “Romero has enjoyed a long working relationship with King that continues with this project.” Nathan Kahane will also join the project in a producorial capacity, and Steven Schneider serves as an executive producer with Mollner. Meredith Wieck will oversee the project for Lionsgate alongside Pavan Kalidindi. Phil Strina negotiated the deal on behalf of the studio.

Back in 2020, Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) was attached to direct the film from a script she was writing with Christy Hall, but that didn’t work out. Here’s hoping JT Mollner will have better luck with it than Lynne Ramsay and George A. Romero did – but given that he managed to break The Long Walk out of a long stretch in development hell, it seems that luck is on his side.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon centers on the harrowing survival story of nine-year-old Trisha as she struggles to stay alive in the woods alone. With only her Walkman radio playing baseball games to keep her company, Trisha’s love of pitcher Tom Gordon begins to manifest in hallucinations that may save her life.

Erin Westerman, president, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, provided the following statement: “JT is a filmmaker we believe has a bright future. Throughout his work, he creates characters, and especially young characters, that are so compelling, heartbreaking, and emotional that they pop off the screen—and of course, that’s what Stephen King does on the page as well. The story of survival and perseverance in The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is timeless—we’ve loved this tale for a long time and JT is the perfect choice to adapt and direct this King fan favorite.“

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