Although director Oz Perkins’The Monkeylooks like a lot of fun, the Stephen King adaptation also seems like it could inadvertently hurt theFinal Destinationfranchise’s long-awaited reboot. Stephen King’s short story “The Monkey” was first published in 1980 and later included in the 1985 collectionSkeleton Crew. The sparse tale tells the story of Hal, a man who is cursed by a windup toy monkey whose cymbals portend death and doom for anyone nearby. The titular threat follows Hal throughout his unfortunate life.
While2025’sThe Monkeymovie adaptationwill seeLonglegsdirector Oz Perkins bring the story to life on-screen, this is only the second official adaptation of the story in the 45 years since it was first published. The first, a short film by director Spencer Sherry, premiered in May 2023. Perkins’ take onThe Monkeyhas already stirred up a lot of hype, with its trailer earning over 14 million YouTube views. However,The Monkey’s similarity totheFinal Destinationmoviesmight not be good news for the existing series.
The Monkey Looks A Lot Like A Final Destination Movie
Longlegs Director Oz Perkins’ Stephen King Adaptation Shares The Same Premise
Beginning in 2000 with director James Wong’sFinal Destination, theFinal Destinationfranchise is a slasher series with a difference. In each movie of the franchise, the protagonist saves various characters from certain death by ensuring that they narrowly avoid a catastrophe like an airplane crash or a freeway pileup. In the days and weeks that follow, these unlikely survivors are picked off one at a time a vengeful death. The central gimmick is that their deaths come about as apparent accidents. Some are shockingly abrupt, like an infamously sudden bus impact, while others are hilariously elaborate.
The Monkeyis arriving in cinemas only three months before Final Destination: Bloodlines, and Rube Goldberg-esque, semi-comedic deaths are clearly the main draw for both movies.
Judging by its trailer,The Monkey’s story has a lot in common with theFinal Destinationfranchise.The Monkeysees Theo James’ long-suffering protagonist witness numerous characters killed by Rube Goldberg-esque elaborate, gory deaths. Admittedly, these are caused by death itself in theFinal Destinationmovies and the titular toy inThe Monkey. However,The Monkeyis arriving in cinemas only three months beforeFinal Destination: Bloodlines, and these Rube Goldberg-esque, semi-comedic deaths are clearly the main draw for both movies.
Final Destination’s Long-Awaited Reboot Arrives Months After The Monkey
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It is worth noting that King’s original short story came long beforeFinal Destination, so there is no reason to believe Perkins’ movie is borrowing unduly from the series. However, while King’s original short story features a few far-fetched coincidences in its deaths, the main thrust of the plot is not these comically nasty ends. In contrast, the trailer forThe Monkeymakes it clear that the movie will lean into the blackly comedic impact of these gruesome demises, with one detective saying the aftermath of a character’s death looks like“Spaghetti City.”
This could be bad news forFinal Destination: Bloodlines, which is likely to offer viewers the same premise only a few weeks afterThe Monkey’s release. Although some adaptations ofearly Stephen King stories likeThe Manglerwere critically derided, Perkins’ success with 2024’s sleeper hitLonglegsseems to bode well for his upcoming comedy-horror.The Monkey’s box office performance may also be helped by the success ofLonglegs, which proved a bigger hit than even the most optimistic pre-release forecasts predicted.
The Monkeycould hurt the potential success of FinalDestination: Bloodlinessince, until recently, horror fans had not seen anything from the series in over a decade. Even though 2011’sFinal Destination 5was an unexpected success that earned over $157 million and tied the franchise together with its ingenious twist ending, its follow-up took 15 years to reach the big screen. As such, the series had a lot of time to build up hype. However,The Monkey’s similar story of wacky, cartoonishly brutal deaths caused by supernatural causes could steal the reboot’s thunder.
Final Destination: Bloodlines And The Monkey Could Both Succeed
Perkins’ King Adaptation Looks More Broadly Comedic Than The Reboot
Fortunately for the creators of both movies,The MonkeyandFinal Destination: Bloodlinescould both succeed.The tonal differences between the two movies mean thatFinal Destination 6may not end up feeling too similar to the King adaptation. A big part of the appeal of Perkins’ adaptation is thatThe Monkeylooks openly comedic, whereas theFinal Destinationmovies generally play things straight.
The Monkeypromises to be an altogether goofier movie.
What makes the absurd deaths of theFinal Destinationmovies so effective is the tongue-in-cheek tone of the series, but this only works because the franchise’s characters treat the silly premise with the utmost solemnity. In contrast, by castingThe White Lotus’s Theo James,Schitt’s Creeksupporting star Sarah Levy, and horror-comedy mainstay Elijah Wood,The Monkeypromises to be an altogether goofier movie. As such,The Monkey’s Stephen King adaptation won’t necessarily imperil the success ofFinal Destination’s reboot.
