Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Stephen King's The Long Walk.
Summary
- To succeed, The Long Walk movie needs to accurately follow the book's harsh and heartbreaking ending.
- Fans question if the film will capture the trauma Garraty experiences and whether he lives or dies at the end.
- Mark Hamill's portrayal of the villain Major is crucial in making the movie terrifying and intense.
Stephen King's The Long Walk was published in 1979, and it's one of the most popular books that the beloved author penned as Richard Bachman. The story follows teenagers who enter a walking competition that is horrifying and impossible to imagine. Francis Lawrence directed the upcoming movie adaptation, which will be released in theaters on September 12th, 2025. The film looks terrifying and memorable and stars Mark Hamill as the Major and Cooper Hoffman as main character Raymond Garraty.
Many fans would agree that all of King's 2025 adaptations have been great, from the dark and mysterious MGM+ series The Institute to the impressive The Life of Chuck. However, if The Long Walk doesn't get one element exactly right, the rest of the movie could fall flat, and the movie could be disappointing.
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Stephen King Loves The Long Walk Trailer, But The Movie Needs To Follow The Book's Harsh And Heartbreaking Ending
In a Threads post, Stephen King wrote that the second trailer for The Long Walk is "awesome," and it definitely appears to be a solid and well-crafted adaptation. However, in order for the film to succeed, the movie needs to follow the book's ending. After the main character, Ray Garraty, wins the competition, he sees a strange being in front of him, and continues walking before he decides to run.
Fans are always curious if a new King adaptation will feature the exact same conclusion or make a sweeping shift. The Long Walk is a harsh and upsetting tale, and since King was thinking about the body count of the Vietnam War when he penned the novel, that's inevitable. But, if the movie doesn't end exactly the same way as the book, the story won't feel as powerful or meaningful. The Long Walk and Squid Game are both about a dark competition and it's essential that audiences feel the trauma that Garraty has experienced.
Fans have shared their interpretations of The Long Walk ending on Reddit, and many wonder if Garraty lives or dies at the end. It's interesting to examine how Garraty has been affected by this contest and what could happen to him next. Many agree that no matter what, the character's life has been ruined forever, and he can't find happiness again after what he has been through. Redditor @hostaDisaster wrote:
"I think of it like The Hunger Games. The 'winner', if they truly live after, are likely a shell of themselves."
Redditor @sskoog shared:
"It's intentionally left open-ended. Garraty 'wins,' finishing the Walk by outlasting all other competitors, but he either loses his mind or drops dead of exhaustion."
Fans aren't sure if The Long Walk ending is supernatural or not, and both interpretations are fair. Even some of King's more realistic novels, like Lisey's Story, delve into fantasy and paranormal elements, and much of his work plays with reality. It would be disappointing if the movie didn't feature this possibly supernatural being as it's such a compelling way to wrap up the story. By the end of the book, readers feel they've gone on a challenging and impossible journey with the characters, and audiences should feel the same way when they leave the theater.
Mark Hamill's The Long Walk Villain Looks Fascinating
Readers of The Long Walk know how terrifying, disturbing, and dark the story is, and that all starts with the villain of the story: the Major, who is in charge of the walking competition. While director Francis Lawrence could have chosen an actor who is known for playing evil characters, he knew that Mark Hamill, who also starred in The Life of Chuck, was the best fit for the role. From the two trailers, fans can tell that Hamill has perfected the harsh character, who is determined to make this competition as miserable and cruel as possible.
Lawrence shared in an interview with IGN that Hamill's voice roles prove he has "real command over dialect and the kind of tone and the timbre of his voice," which was necessary for the Major.
Lawrence explained:
"I wanted somebody, again, with more complexity that just had kind of a weariness to him, but with gravitas."
Lawrence continued that Hamill moved around as a child because his family was in the military, which helped him figure out the character. The director said:
"he could just kind of go into this kind of mishmash of various people he had met over the years as a child and kind of conjured up his version of the Major."
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