Nearly 40 years ago, a post-E.T. Drew Barrymore starred as Charlie McGee in the first adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter. now, newcomer Ryan Kiera Armstrong will take over the role of Charlie in Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s upcoming Firestarter reboot. And if the first trailer is any indication, the new take on Charlie’s story is going to be even darker than before.
Within the footage, Charlie’s pyrokinetic abilities manifest themselves at school and at home. Consequently, Charlie’s mother, Vicky McGee (Sydney Lemmon), almost gets burned alive. Charlie’s father, Andy McGee (Zac Efron), and his wife are both survivors of The Shop, a black ops group that tried to create people with superhuman abilities. Charlie represents a major step forward in human evolution, and the trailer even suggests that she could be the world’s first superhero. But the evidence of our eyes tells another story. Charlie’s powers are dangerous, and she feels a certain sensation of pleasure when she cuts loose.
The Shop doesn’t just want Charlie back, they want her under their control. That’s why The Shop operative John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes) has made it his mission to not only capture the McGee family, but also to befriend Charlie and bend her to his will. Regardless, Rainbird is literally playing with fire, and that almost always results in burns.
With the trailer also came the news that Firestarter will not be a theater-exclusive film. Instead, Universal has slated Firestarter for a simultaneous release in theaters and on streaming service Peacock on May 13.
Keith Thomas directed the new Firestarter from a script by Scott Teems.
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