Stephen King has been having a bit of a resurgence in the past few years. With the 2-part adaptation of It, we’ve been receiving more films and announcements than ever before. But the upcoming adaptation of Firestarter has a unique connection with its first 80’s incarnation, and that is John Carpenter. It turns out the now legendary horror director and composer was initially barred from directing the first film back in the ’80s.
So what’s the story behind this connection, and what’s the injustice? It turns out Carpenter was initially hoping to direct the first film and was slated for the job back when it was announced. But it was the backlash of a particular movie that made the heads of Universal change their minds. If you’re a horror fan, you probably know where this is going. It was 1982’s The Thing.
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Things and Flames
Universal Pictures
Universal Studios produced both The Thing and Firestarter, and kept their eyes closely on both projects. Carpenter was initially signed on to direct Firestarter before The Thing’s release. Things were looking great… until they weren’t so great. There were multiple elements that led to The Thing’s unsuccessful time at the box office, one of them being Stephen Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, which premiered shortly before The Thing. E.T.’s sweeping score and themes of love and friendship clashed drastically with The Thing’s isolation and terrifying body horror. Critics and audiences were not impressed, leading to The Thing bombing at the box office. Because of the tidal wave of negative attention, Universal pulled Carpenter from Firestarter and replaced him with Mark L. Lester.
Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. As time ticked on, The Thing was aired on television and found itself on video rental shelves. Through word of mouth, late-night broadcasts, and video sales, The Thing found its audience. The film has since grown in popularity and become a staple in both horror and science fiction cinema. On top of that, Carpenter went on to direct another King adaptation shortly after 1983’s Christine. Christine went on to become one of the most infamous of King’s adaptations for its impressive special effects, not to mention one of the most successful of the King adaptations. It was the perfect example of getting back up after being knocked down!
And what became of 1984’s Firestarter? While the film went on to surpass its initial budget, audiences and critics were mixed. Even King himself at the time considered it one of the worst of the movies based on his books.
The industry wasn’t very kind to Carpenter during his directing career. Ever since he introduced us to Michael Meyers, Carpenter found his visions clashing with Hollywood executives more than once. He has since gone on to retire from directing to focus on another of his passions, music. He’s scored other films (including the 2018 and 2021 additions to the Halloween franchise) and gone on tour with his music. Firestarter, like Halloween and HalloweenKills, will see him teamed up with his son, Cody Carpenter, for the score. Not only will this be fitting for the film’s themes of parent and child bonding, but it will also cement Carpenter as the one who had the last laugh in the end.
