Another day, another Stephen King movie. But Firestarter is worth getting excited for.
The second adaptation of the author’s 1980 novel doesn’t star Drew Barrymore, but it does have Zac Efron, Sydney Lemmon (Jennifer from Succession; also seen here sharing a photo of Larry David in front of a Helstrom poster), and Ryan Kiera Armstrong as a creepy little girl with pyrokinetic abilities. The score was composed by John Carpenter — yes, that John Carpenter — who was the original choice to direct the 1984 movie until The Thing bombed at the box office, and Universal went with Mark L. Lester instead.
Here’s the official plot summary:
For more than a decade, parents Andy (Zac Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon) have been on the run, desperate to hide their daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for creating fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Andy has taught Charlie how to defuse her power, which is triggered by anger or pain. But as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. After an incident reveals the family’s location, a mysterious operative (Michael Greyeyes) is deployed to hunt down the family and seize Charlie once and for all. Charlie has other plans.
Firestarter will be released in theaters and on Peacock on May 13.