Stephen King's son Joe Hill is adapting one of his own unpublished stories for the big screen, and it's for the most heartwarming reason

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Stephen King's son Joe Hill is adapting one of his own unpublished stories for the big screen, and it's for the most heartwarming reason News By Megan Garside published 24 November 2025

Plus, The Black Phone director helped him secure the job

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Aside from being a successful author and Stephen King's son, Joe Hill has made a name for himself in the world of film and TV, and continues to write one screenplay a year, both based on his own and other writers' works.

His next project is based on one of his unpublished stories. "Right now I'm revising a screenplay that I was paid for for 2025," said Hill in an interview with Mashable. "The script I'm working on now is an adaptation of an unpublished novella that I'd written that will be published eventually."

Although we don't know what the upcoming project will follow, we are sure it will be great and ghostly, just like Hill's past adapted works. Scott Derrickson's 2022 horror movie The Black Phone is based on one of Hill's short stories, as is Netflix's spooky 2019 film In the Tall Grass. Hill has had luck with television, too, as the beloved Locke and Key series is adapted from Hill's comic series of the same name.

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However, Hill revealed the reason he writes "a screenplay every single year" is "for the healthcare." Hill gets healthcare for his family through the Writers Guild of America, which he is only eligible for if he meets annual requirements, hence the one screenplay per annum. "It's so important to have access to that healthcare insurance," said Hill, as his wife received a cancer diagnosis in 2024.

Hill went on to explain that a lapse in his healthcare coverage led him to adapt his unpublished story. In fact, The Black Phone's Derrickson helped him out with the process. "I sent him this novella I had written that hadn't been published, and a pitch for how I'd adapt it, and he got psyched. And he's like, 'We gotta do this.' And so he got me the gig to write the script. Now I'm revising it for Sony Screen Gems," said Hill.

Hill's wife has now fully recovered, but the writer still plans on producing a screenplay alongside writing a novel each year in his fifties. "The next two things I've got lined up are adaptations of other people's words," Hill said, "which I'm really excited about."

For more, check out our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies and new TV shows heading our way.

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Megan GarsideSocial Links NavigationEditorial Associate, GamesRadar+

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.  

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