Emilio Estevez Wrote a Sequel to Stephen King’s Bonkers ‘Maximum Overdrive’ Film
Stephen King has become the master of horror, with dozens of his works adapted into film and television, but one of his most infamous projects rises above all the others: Maximum Overdrive. The 1986 film marked King’s sole directorial effort, with the author swearing off directing afterward due to the insanity of making the film. But it has become a cult classic for its campy, bonkers nature, and star Emilio Estevez recently revealed that he even scripted a sequel.
“I started to imagine what a sequel to Maximum Overdrive would look like, and during the [2023 Hollywood] strike, I wrote one,” Estevez told Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast. “I don’t have the rights to any of this… I started on page one, now I’m on page 10, I’m on page 20, now it’s 50 pages, and I can’t stop.” Estevez added more about the premise of his truly wild-sounding sequel:
“I created an insane world. It takes place in a diner … [Estevez’s character] Bill was a short order cook. So now in the movie, it opens with, he’s got his own diner. He’s got a young daughter, his crew, his people, and Guy Fieri is coming to do Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the day the world falls apart, and machines turn. And it was a cool idea!”
‘Maximum Overdrive’ Followed the Rise of the Machines
The original film, based on King’s short story Trucks, followed a group of people, led by Estevez’s Bill, who get trapped in a diner when inanimate machines that come to life and begin killing humans. The film, which also starred Laura Harrington, Pat Hingle, and Yeardley Smith, became notable for its campy direction and over-the-top deaths, including death by vending machine and a child getting run over by a sentient steamroller. The film is also notable for its heavy metal and AC/DC soundtrack.
Maximum Overdrive is generally considered one of the worst projects King has ever made – including by the horror auteur himself, who previously admitted that he was high on cocaine and often drunk during the production. It also led to King disowning the movie and realizing that he did not want to direct further films. However, Maximum Overdrive has since become a fan favorite and a cult classic among the horror genre, so it’s unsurprising that Estevez would be interested in making another one. But the rights to Maximum Overdrive are held by the estate of Dino De Laurentiis, the late producer whose company distributed the film. So who knows whether more truck-based killings will ever see the light of day?
Maximum Overdrive is streaming now on Prime Video.
Source: Happy, Sad, Confused podcast
