Director Osgood Perkins teases that his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey will be a “hyper dark” comedy that blends scares, laughs, and tears

Osgood Perkins, the director behind Longlegs, is gearing up to bring Stephen King’s 1980 short story The Monkey to the big screen in 2025. In a recent conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Perkins teased his unique take on the horror tale, calling it a “hyper dark” comedy that blends scares, laughs, and tears. The film, starring Theo James and Elijah Wood, centers around a cursed cymbal-crashing toy monkey that causes deadly chaos simply by existing. As Perkins puts it, “It’s evil just in its presence,” setting the stage for a story where anything can happen.

The plot follows twin brothers Bill and Hal, who stumble upon the monkey in their father’s attic, only to find it linked to a string of gruesome deaths. After years of being apart, the brothers must come together to face both their family’s dark past and the ominous toy. Perkins plans to delve deep into themes of family trauma and the inevitability of death, all while throwing in some unexpected humor.

Theo James, who plays one of the brothers, told Entertainment Weekly that Perkins had a clear vision for an R-rated “family movie” that’s both chilling and heartfelt. The dark humor comes from the idea of confronting death with a grin, something Perkins can relate to given his personal experiences with loss. The Monkey promises to be a wild ride that will leave audiences laughing, screaming, and maybe even shedding a tear when it hits theaters on February 21, 2025.

Are you excited to see the new Stephen King adaptation?