7 Details ‘The Long Walk’ Movie Changed From the Stephen King Novel
“You walk as long as you can. But sometimes the body won’t listen. For some, your heart will stop. For others, your brain. And the blood will flow… suddenly. There’s one winner and no finish line.”
The Long Walk is a dystopian survival thriller based on a story Stephen King wrote in the 70s. It has never been adapted to screen before. Early reviews of The Long Walk had it at a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the highest rated King adaptation ever — though it has now fallen to 91%. This is still impressive as King is such a prolific and popular author that there are at least 76 adaptations of his works.
First, what is The Long Walk all about?
In a dystopian America, economic depression results in young men volunteering for an annual race in which they walk for as long as they can. Participants who stop walking or fail to keep pace are shot by armed guards who trek along with the racers. The race is broadcast to all of America and the winner receives a cash prize and the granting of “whatever he wants”.
The protagonist of The Long Walk is Ray Garraty (Cooper Hoffman). During the race Garraty befriends fellow walkers like Peter McVries (David Jonsson), Hank Olson (Ben Wang) and Stebbins (Garrett Wareing). As the race goes on, boys begin to die and the survivors question the totalitarian government and the Major (Mark Hamill), the leader of the secret police who is in charge of the race.
How is The Long Walk movie different from the Stephen King novel?
- The required minimum speed of the race was reduced from 4 miles per hour to 3. In the 70s when Stephen King wrote The Long Walk, people didn’t have much experience with treadmills and Apple watches. This means they were less familiar with what different walking speeds look and feel like. Given that the boys seem somewhat relaxed and are able to carry conversations while racing, the speed of 3 mph feels more accurate.
- The participants were changed from boys to men. In the novel, participants in the long walk are aged 13-18. In the movie, the age range isn’t given but before the race begins the young men suspect one partipant has lied about his age being 18, as he looks 16. So, in the movie the competitors in the Long Walk are at least 18 years-old. I’d suspect that this change was made just because we’re uncomfortable seeing children in a distoypian battle royale in which all but the winner die — but director Frances Lawrence already made 4 movies with that exact plot and is working on a 5th. He’s the director of most of the Hunger Games movies.
- The number of walkers was reduced from 100 in the novel to 50 in the movie. A detail was also added that there is one boy representing each state.
- There are no crowds watching the walkers in the movie. The race is televised in both the novel and the movie. However the novel frequently talks about the crowds that form to watch the walkers. In the movie, it’s said that people aren’t allowed to line up to watch the race and must watch on TV. It makes sense then that Ray Garraty’s girlfriend is written out of the movie. In the book, he looks forward to Freeport, where she will be waiting in the crowd.
- Peter McVries’ family origin is different. In the book he says his family didn’t want him to volunteer for the Long Walk. In the movie, McVries is orphaned and didn’t have a family to rebel against.
Spoiler alert: The rest of the plot changes from the book to The Long Walk movie contain major spoilers. Stop reading now if you have not yet seen The Long Walk and don’t want to be spoiled.
6. The assassination plot. In the novel Garraty’s father is disappeared by the Major’s secret police. However, there is no assassination plot. In the movie, Garraty seeks revenge on the Major. If he wins the race, he will ask for a gun and plans to immediately use the gun to assassinate the Major.
7. Garraty doesn’t win. Ray Garraty is the protagonist of The Long Walk and the winner in the novel. The race comes down to Garraty, Stebbins and Peter McVries. Peter decides to sit down and is killed. Garraty feels he cannot go on and is about to quit when Stebbins suddenly dies — making Garraty the winner. However, Garraty is in shock and continues walking despite the race ending, even breaking into a run. In the movie, Stebbins dies leaving Garraty and McVries as the final two. Garraty sacrifices himself to allow his newfound friend Peter to win. Peter then enacts Garraty’s plan and assassinates the Major before turning to continue walking.
The Long Walk is now in theaters.
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