Stephen King Found the Perfect Replacement for "Squid Game" Season 3

This is the upcoming film adaptation of his first dystopian novel.

On the social media platform Threads, Stephen King responded to a post from the host of the "Talking Scared Podcast."

In the original post, the author expressed disappointment with the final season of "Squid Game":

'Squid Game' would be the greatest series in history if they just cut out 100% of everything that isn't actually the 'Squid Game.'

King reposted this message with the words: "Then you'll love 'The Long Walk.'"

Here's the catch: while "Squid Game's" third season is already on Netflix, we'll have to wait until August 11 for the premiere of King's novel adaptation. The main roles in "The Long Walk" will be played by Judy Greer, Mark Hamill, Ben Van, and Charlie Plummer.

Stephen King in a hoodie with dog prints stands against a background frame from the "Squid Game" series — Stephen King recommends his "The Long Walk" to everyone disappointed in "Squid Game's" finale

The plot of both the book and film is simple but terrifying. Like "Squid Game," it's a dystopia, but set in an alternative future. A dictator has seized power in the US. Every year, the country holds a massive competition that any young man can enter.

They have to... just keep walking forward. But anyone who stumbles or slows down gets immediately shot by the organizers. Participants are forced to keep moving until only one remains alive. The winner gets their deepest wish granted.

A group of young people in hiking clothes walking along a road on a summer day, with trees and hills in the background — Frame from the upcoming film "The Long Walk"

Sounds a bit like "The Hunger Games," doesn't it? But there's no question about who borrowed from whom. Stephen King wrote this novel from 1966 to 1967 while in college – long before Suzanne Collins published the first "Hunger Games" book in 2008.

Zoomboola.com notes that "The Long Walk" was actually the first full novel Stephen King ever wrote, though "Carrie" was published first in 1974, while "The Walk" didn't see the light of day until 1979 (under the pseudonym Richard Bachman).

As for "Squid Game's" third season, it's indeed showing weaker results than the previous two. On the film critics' site Rotten Tomatoes, the critics' rating at the time of writing stands at 79%, while the audience rating is just 50%. Not quite "rotten tomatoes" territory, but pretty mediocre results. For comparison, the first season scored 85% and 66% respectively, while the second hit 83% and 63%.