New Stephen King Adaptation ‘The Monkey’ Reveals Cast

Theo James and Elijah Wood Part of the Cast of New Horror ‘The Monkey’

Osgood Perkins has directed the adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, which was originally published in 1980 and then updated in 1985.

(Left) Theo James as Eddie Horniman in 'The Gentlemen.' Photo: Kevin Baker/Netflix. Copyright: © 2023, Netflix Inc. (Center) Elijah Wood in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.' Photo: New Line Cinema. (Right) Tatiana Maslany in Disney+'s ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.'

Preview:

A movie based on Stephen King short story ‘The Monkey’ has been shot.
Theo James, Tatiana Maslany and Elijah Wood are in the lead roles.
Osgood Perkins directed the movie.

Normally when there is a casting story to report, it’s because a movie is in the midst of coming together –– occasionally, word on actors’ involvement is even sometimes leaked so as to nudge negotiations in a certain direction.

But then there are the other cases, ones that almost serve as a “surprise! New finished movie!” story, with the film already in the can. And for ‘The Monkey’, that’s certainly the case, with production completed and deals reportedly made to sell it to distributors, at least according to Deadline.

As for the cast? That is led by Theo James, Tatiana Maslany and Elijah Wood.

The Monkey

"Everybody dies. And that's fucked up."

RFeb 21st, 2025

Showtimes & Tickets

When twin brothers Hal and Bill discover their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, a series of gruesome deaths start occurring all around them. Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘The Monkey’?

Author Stephen King. Photo: Stephen King/Facebook.

The new movie adapts –– as so many projects these days seem to –– a Stephen King story. In this case, it’s a short story that was first published as a booklet included in Gallery magazine in 1980.

King revised the story for publication in his 1985 collection ‘Skeleton Crew’. The narrative follows young brothers, Peter and Dennis who discover a cymbal-banging monkey in the attic of their great-uncle’s house. As if that wasn’t scary enough –– seriously, have you seen some of those things? –– they discover its sinister history. Originally discovered by their father, Hal, it turned out to be cursed, and every time it clapped its cymbals together, someone near Hal died.

In the movie, the brothers will soon find that people around them are dying, and attempt to dispose of the toy, then grow up and apart. But when a string of mysterious deaths begins, they must reunite to destroy the monkey for good before it takes the lives of everyone close to them.

Who’s in the cast of ‘The Monkey’ movie?

Christian Convery as Gus in 'Sweet Tooth' season 2.

The new movie features an eclectic cast, including Theo James (seen in ‘The White Lotus’ and more recently in Netflix’s ‘The Gentlemen’ series) Tatiana Maslany (‘She–Hulk: Attorney at Law’), Elijah Wood (‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring’), Christian Convery (‘Sweet Tooth’), Colin O’Brien (‘Wonka’), Rohan Campbell (‘Halloween Ends’) and Sarah Levy (‘Schitt’s Creek’).

James is playing both twin brothers in their adult incarnations, with Convery bringing them to life in their youth.

Who has made ‘The Monkey’?

'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' director James Wan at CinemaCon 2022. Photos by Eric Charbonneau.

Osgood “Oz” Perkins was in the director’s chair for the movie, working from his script. The filmmaker has another movie already headed our way –– the Nicolas Cage/Maika Monroe-starring ‘Longlegs’, which is due out in July and has an intriguing trailer online.

On the producing side, the new horror movie comes from James Wan, the genre specialist behind the likes of ‘The Conjuring’ and ‘Saw’ franchises.