Shared universes are all the rage right now. Many studios are doing them, and some of them are extremely successful. Marvel has been building their cinematic universe for years now, and it’s standing strong. Universal is working on bringing back their shared universe, which may have been the first one ever made. “Star Wars” is currently expanding their already prominent shared universe, making it bigger than ever before. DC is currently working on building up their own cinematic universe, and their television shared universe has been highly successful. Fox is even trying to make their own Marvel cinematic universe, but the failure of the “Fantastic Four” reboot has been making that difficult. Sony even attempted to do one with the “Spider-Man” franchise but ended up teaming up with Marvel instead. There is even one now from the world of “Harry Potter”. But there is one shared universe many people seem to overlook. It’s been around a long time and it is one of the biggest around. And it was all created by one man.
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The entire works of Stephen King all take place in the same shared universe. This universe tends to center on the state of Maine, but also includes many alternate realities, alternate timelines, dimensions, planets, and even dream worlds. This shared universe has been around since the sixties, and it is still expanding. Stephen King’s work has inspired many movies, miniseries, TV series, comic books, and fan films. A Stephen King cinematic universe would be limitless, and highly successful. Considering that he is one of the bestselling authors of all time.
The majority of King’s works center on the state of Maine. The main towns that most of the books and stories center on are: Castle Rock, Jerusalem’s Lot, Derry, and Haven. Though there are also books that take place in other towns, such as: Chester’s Mill, Cleaves Mill, Harlow, Ackerman’s Field, Tarker’s Mill, and others. Books in certain towns reference events, people, and locations in that town and other towns. There is also a geographical setup of Stephen King’s Maine. For instance, Tarker’s Mill borders Chester’s Mill to the east and the towns are often referred to as the Twin Mills. These stories often take place in the Mainstream Universe.
Many of the Stephen King universes revolve around the All-World. The All-World is the home of Roland Deschain (The Gunslinger) and Randall Flagg (The villain from “The Stand” and the deity from “Children of the Corn”), and where The Dark Tower physically exists. The Dark Tower is the nexus of all universes. There has been many connections between “The Dark Tower” series and many other books by Stephen King. “The Dark Tower” series isn’t the only work of King that connects to the multiverse. In “The Talisman”, the protagonist Jack Sawyer becomes connected with a parallel dimension known as The Territories. In “The Mist”, the military tears open a rift to a limbo between dimensions known as Todash space. In “Ur”, the protagonist Wesley Smith receives an Amazon Kindle that contains works of literature from parallel universes. In “Desperation” and “The Regulators”, there is a dimensional portal in the Mainstream Universe. “The Stand” features an alternate reality where the world is an apocalyptic wasteland. There’s even a dimension known as Keystone Earth which is described as “the real world” where there is a version of Stephen King himself, author of “The Dark Tower” series. In that reality, there is a rose that is the gate to access The Dark Tower.
The amount of adaptations there are to Stephen King’s work is unbelievable. There has been comic book adaptations and tie-ins to works such as “The Stand” and “The Dark Tower” series. There has been so many successful films, like: “The Shining”, “The Dead Zone”, “Cujo”, “Silver Bullet”, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Carrie”, “Firestarter”, “Children of the Corn”, “Pet Semetary”, “Misery”, “Needful Things”, “Thinner”, “Secret Window”, “1408”, “The Mist”, and many many more. There has also been many successful miniseries based on his work, including: “The Stand”, “Salem’s Lot”, “The Tommyknockers”, “The Langoliers”, “The Shining”, “It”, “11.22.63”, and many others. Then there has also been TV series, including: “The Dead Zone”, “Haven”, and “Under the Dome”. On top of everything he has done, there are tons of works currently in production that are either based on his work, or are remakes of already existing adaptations.
The connections between his novels and the description of his multiverse were just to name a few. The possibilities of a Stephen King cinematic universe are limitless. It would have the potential to trump anything DC, Marvel, or “Star Wars” could ever produce. And considering how successful both his books and his adaptations are, the studio to create his shared universe would make a killing.
Possibilities of this all happening are starting to seem all the more possible. To be released in July is a film adaptation of “The Dark Tower” starring Idris Elba. Hulu is planning on airing a series titled “Castle Rock” that will be produced by Stephen King and JJ Abrams (same team to produce “11.22.63”) that will most likely connect many of the works that take place in the state of Maine. There’s also talks of a “The Tommyknockers” TV adaptation that is set to mirror the format of “Under the Dome”. On top of all that, there are many adaptions either in the works or set to be released, including “It”, “Cujo”, “The Mist”, “Mr. Mercedes”, and many others. A Stephen King cinematic universe is definitely a possibility.
