The Long Walk is a 2025 American dystopiansurvivalthriller film directed and produced by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by JT Mollner. It is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Stephen King (under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). Set in a dystopian future, the novel follows fifty boys in an annually televised competition, meant to inspire viewers. Each boy must maintain a pace of 3 miles per hour. Failure to do so after three warnings results in death. The boy who lasts the longest wins riches and the fulfillment of a wish of his choice.
In an alternate 20th century, the United States is a totalitarianmilitary regime, and the nation's annual event, The Long Walk, aims to inspire patriotism and work ethic among the destitute. Fifty teenage boys, one from each state, are chosen randomly, given water and rations, and must walk hundreds of miles nonstop while armed soldiers escort and broadcast it. Those who fall below 3 miles per hour (4.8km/h) or stop walking receive up to three warnings before being executed. The Walk ends when only one survivor remains, winning a cash prize and one wish. Though voluntary, the people are so desperate for the prize that nearly all young men sign up.
Raymond "Ray" Garraty is driven to the starting line near the Canadian border in Maine by his mother, Ginnie, who begs him to back out. Ray refuses and meets the other participants, including Peter "Pete" McVries, Billy Stebbins, Arthur "Art" Baker, Collie Parker, Gary Barkovitch, Hank Olson, and Richard Harkness. During the first day, Ray gets to know the other walkers and forms a close bond with Pete. "The Major" is in charge of escorting the walkers. A boy named Thomas Curley is the first to be killed, after he develops a charley horse in his leg. Barkovitch is shunned by the group for provoking another walker named Rank into attacking him, resulting in Rank's execution.
As the walk continues, Pete says he wants to use his wish to improve the world. Ray wants his wish for a rifle to kill the Major as revenge for his father's execution over political opposition. Pete tries to talk Ray out of it, admits that he cannot have someone die to win, and will sit down once he has had enough. Over days, several walkers die, including Harkness, who was shot after breaking his ankle and walking on it for miles. Hank becomes delirious, tries to attack the soldiers, but they shoot him and let him bleed to death. After learning he was married, the boys vow to send money to his widow. Guilt over Rank's death and his exclusion from the pact leads Barkovitch to beg to join. Soon after Ray agrees, Barkovitch has a mental breakdown and stabs himself in the throat with a spoon.
Only Ray, Pete, Stebbins, Art, and Collie remain. While walking through Ray's hometown of Freeport, he spots Ginnie and runs to her, apologizing for competing. He is almost killed for stepping off the road, but is saved by Pete. Collie, driven to insanity, manages to steal a rifle which he uses to shoot one of the soldiers and then himself. Art develops an internal hemorrhage and thanks Pete and Ray for being his friends before stopping. Stebbins, who has also fallen ill, reveals to Ray and Pete that he is one of the Major's many illegitimate sons, and he intended to use his wish to be accepted as his son. He tells the pair it was an honor to walk with them before stopping and allowing himself to be killed, leaving Ray and Pete as the final two walkers.
After five days and well over 300 miles of walking, the pair arrives at another town, where a large crowd has gathered to see who will win. Pete sits down, only for Ray to pick him up and encourage him to keep going. He does so, only for Ray to stop walking instead. The Major personally executes Ray and congratulates Pete as the winner. When asked to state his wish, Pete carries out Ray's plan by asking for a rifle and killing the Major with it. With the crowd now silent, Pete turns to the road ahead of him and keeps walking.[a]
In 1988, George A. Romero was considered to direct the film adaptation, but it never came to fruition.[8] By 2007, Frank Darabont had secured the rights to the film adaptation of the novel.[9] He said that he would "get to it one day". He planned to make it low-budget and stated, "It'll be weird, existential and very contained".[10] In April 2018, New Line Cinema was set to adapt a film based on the novel, with James Vanderbilt attached to write and produce the film along with Bradley Fischer and William Sherak through their Mythology Entertainment banner.[11] In May 2019, it was announced that André Øvredal would direct the adaptation.[12]
By November 2023, the film was to be produced by Lionsgate Films with Francis Lawrence directing from a screenplay by JT Mollner.[13] On June 10, 2024, Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson joined the cast.[14] On taking the part of a young character who lost a father like Hoffman had himself, Hoffman said: "When your trauma is on display for the world, there's no actually hiding it. I'm like, I might as well talk about it, or I might as well put it into something. Because if I keep hiding it and running from it, that's not fair to anyone else who has gone through that. I'm here to display this person and this experience as honestly as I can, and hopefully someone else watches it and goes, he sees me, he understands me. And that's, in my opinion, the only reason to do any sort of art."[15] The next month, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Izabella Raven, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Roman Griffin Davis, Mark Hamill, and Judy Greer joined the cast.[16][17]
As of September 28, 2025, The Long Walk has grossed $29 million in the United States and Canada, and $7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $36 million against a budget of $20 million.
In the United States and Canada, The Long Walk was released alongside Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, and was projected to gross $6–10 million from 2,845 theaters in its opening weekend.[4]The Long Walk made $4.76 million on its first day, including $1.3 million in Thursday previews. It debuted to $11.7 million, finishing in fourth.
Critical response
David Jonsson's performance in particular was singled out for praise by both critics and viewers.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 88% of 257 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson's soulful performances bring a lot of heart to Stephen King's dystopian tale, making The Long Walk a life-or-death ordeal for its characters but a riveting ride for audiences."[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[8]
Several reviewers praised the film for its performances, emotional impact, and cinematography. Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com awarded the film 3 out of 4 stars, giving attention to the acting and the dynamics between characters.[28] In Variety, Siddhant Adlakha praised the actors for creating characters that appeared "well-rounded and fully formed", which compensated for the vagueness of the world they inhabit.[29] Nick Schager of The Daily Beast wrote that the cinematography imbued the film with a "stark, morose beauty".[30] Writing for Slate, Rebecca Onion described the film adaptation as better than the source material: "Stephen King has been adapted a lot, but this is the leanest, meanest adaptation of his work in a long time."[31]
The film also received criticism for what some reviewers perceived as a thinly drawn premise and minimalistic approach to character development, including from Steve Rose of The Guardian. Rose noted that the script left the viewer to fill in many blanks, writing: "It is left to the viewer to fill in the gaps, suppress their niggling questions and just go along with it."[32] In The Washington Post, Michael O'Sullivan observed: "How the contest is intended to restore what is described as the struggling American economy — let alone give viewers a sense of hope, as the overseer of the walk, identified only as the Major (a cartoonish Mark Hamill), declares — is a mystery."[8] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times also found that the plot strained credulity and that the director "forgot to entertain the audience".[33]
Notes
↑ Like in the novel, the ending is ambiguous. It is not clear if Pete was killed by the soldiers or if he simply hallucinated shooting the Major.[6][7]
↑ "Interview: Frank Darabont". Lilja's Library – The World of Stephen King. February 6, 2007. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
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