The new adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot will start streaming on Max later this year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

New Line, the studio adapting the 1975 novel, and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the vampire film will no longer be released theatrically. There hasn't been a date for its release yet, but THR sources believe it will be this fourth quarter.

The movie stars Lewis Pullman as the author. Joining him in the cast are Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Bill Camp, Jordan Preston Carter and Pilou Asbaek.

The story follows author Ben Mears (Pullman) who goes back to his hometown Jerusalem's lot for inspiration. He finds out that the people around him are starting to turn into vampires. He then ends up leading a ragtag group to fight the vampires preying on his town.

Veteran horror scriptwriter Gary Dauberman wrote and directed the movie. Distribution plans for the film have been in limbo since 2022 when WarnerMedia, parent company of both New Line and Warner Bros., merged with Discovery Inc. The original plan was for the film to be released in cinemas on September 2022. After the merger, it was pushed to April 2023. And in the end, it was taken off the release calendar completely.

There were speculations that the film would end up like Batgirl and Coyote vs Acme. The two movies were caught up in the merger as well and then were shelved. Batgirl reportedly had “funeral screenings” before Warners wrote it off. Coyote, on the other hand, is in flux. The WBD has been trying to sell the hybrid live-action/animation film but has had no takers yet. Both filmmakers and fans of the Looney Toons characters have been complaining about its fate.

The author King whose adaptations have amassed billions for Hollywood over the last few years may have had a hand in forcing Warners' hand.

King posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Between you and me, Twitter, I've seen the new SALEM'S LOT and it's quite good. Old-school horror filmmaking: slow build big payoff. Not sure why WB is holding it back; not like it's embarrassing, or anything. Who knows. I just write the f***ing things.”