The Monkey Director Says Stephen King Adaptation Is a Comedy, and He'll Have a Small Role in It

Director Osgood Perkins says his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey might be funnier than some fans expected.

IGN recently talked to Perkins about his upcoming film Longlegs (you can read the full interview next week) and during our chat, we asked him if he would ever take on more lighthearted movies again, or if he's all-in on horror now. Though Perkins is making a name for himself in horror as a director, The Monkey will see the filmmaker appear in front of the camera for a few “fun” scenes.

“[My] next movie is called Stephen King's The Monkey, and it's a comedy,” Perkins explained. “I will play the asshole uncle who adopts the kids, and I have a couple scenes and it's fun."

Most of Perkins’ time is spent behind the camera when it comes to Longlegs and The Monkey, but he’s been on-screen for more than a few other projects. You can catch him in the early moments of Jordan Peele’s Nope, but he also shows up in Legally Blonde, Six Degrees of Separation, Star Trek (2009), and more. Of course, he jokes there’s always a chance he could cut himself out of The Monkey before it premieres, "but so far, I'm in it."

Neon announced last week that The Monkey will clap its way into theaters come February 21, 2025. Included in its announcement was a creepy poster as well as the reveal that horror icon James Wan is attached as a producer. In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Perkins described his adaptation as such: “It’s sorta like, if Robert Zemeckis had just like a LITTLE bit of acid and made a Stephen King picture about a monkey toy.” He also called it "the movie that kids and their parents wanna go see together."

Stephen King, James Wan, and Osgood Perkins.
THE MONKEY.
February 21, 2025 pic.twitter.com/NQvqPq57P5

— NEON (@neonrated) June 21, 2024

The Monkey’s cast includes actors like Theo James (The Divergent Series, The Gentlemen), Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings, Yellowjackets), Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Orphan Black), Rohan Campbell (Halloween Ends, The Hardy Boys), and Sarah Levy (Schitt’s Creek, SurrealEstate). For more, you can read our Longlegs review, where we gave the thriller, which hits theaters on July 12, a 7/10. Look forward to our full interview with Perkins while we wait for his next film to release early next year.

Lex Briscuso contributed to this report.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

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