The Long Walkhas now gotten an official release date. The movie, which was directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by JT Mollner, is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) about a dystopian America where teenagers are forced to endure a deadly marathon walk where there is only one survivor. TheupcomingThe Long Walkstars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Judy Greer, Garrett Wareing, Roman Griffin Davis, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Josh Hamilton, and Mark Hamill.
ScreenRantwas in attendance at the Lionsgate presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. During the event, it was officially announced thatThe Long Walkis set to debut in theaters on September 12. Although the schedule could change as the year goes on, this sees it debuting in theaters on the same weekend as the period dramaDownton Abbey: The Grand Finaleand the belated mockumentary sequelSpinal Tap II: The End Continues.
A brief teaser was shown as well:
Opens on road in the middle of nowhere, with several dozen people introducing themselves. Then they started walking, then we see people around them in military weapons. One person falls to their knees, starts screaming, and someone gives them three warnings. After the third warning, that person shoots the walker.
“If you fall below the speed of 3 miles per hour, you get your ticket. Walk until there’s only one of you left,” Hamill says. We see various people stop walking, trying to run away, getting shot, etc. Including people walking with a gun to their heads.
What This Means For The Long Walk
This Release Date Could Serve It Well
This release date could indicate a certain amount of confidence inThe Long Walk, asthat is the exact frame when 2017’sItdebutedbefore becoming the highest-grossingStephen King movieof all time. That title, which featured Bill Skarsgård as the menacing shape-shifting entity Pennywise, grossed $701 million worldwide and was followed by the sequelIt: Chapter Two, which was also released in that early September frame and earned $467.6 million, following its predecessor as the second highest-grossing King movie.
Itdebuted on August 04, 2025, whileIt: Chapter Twopremiered on Jul 26, 2025.
The adaptation of the earlyStephen King bookhas also been given a prime slot for a horror or horror-adjacent movie in general. As the autumn approaches in the Northern Hemisphere and Halloween looms, horror movies tend to find strong theatrical audiences. However, September 2025 has found itself suddenly bereft of major genre titles because the previously scheduledThe Bride!was pushed back to a March 2026 release whileSaw XIwas removed from the schedule entirely,allowingThe Long Walkto fill a genre void.
Our Take On The Long Walk Release Date
It Has The Makings Of A Hit
Ultimately, it makes sense why Lionsgate seems to think that they could have a major hit on their hands.The Long Walkboasts a cast that is chock-full of established stars as well as up-and-coming talent, andits dystopian premise is a perfect fit for Francis Lawrence, who has previously helmed four of the five installments in theHunger Gamesfranchise and is attached to theupcomingSunrise on the Reaping, based on the new prequel novel. All of this points to the film’s strong potential to find its audience, and this release date has given it ample opportunity to prove its worth.
