Author Christian Francis has made writing novelizations his full-time job, and he has been able to get the rights to work on some very interesting properties. Among the novelizations he has written are Tremors (a.k.a. Beneath Perfection), The First Power, In the Mouth of Madness, and the entire Maniac Cop trilogy. I have read and enjoyed a lot of his work. Now, Francis has announced via Rue Morgue that he is working on a novelization of the 2003 slasher Wrong Turn! Coming from Echo On Publications, the Wrong Turn novelization will be issued in hardcover, paperback and eBook formats in spring 2026, with an audiobook edition to follow.
Directed by Rob Schmidt from a screenplay by Alan B. McElroy, the original Wrong Turn had the following synopsis: Friends Jessie (Eliza Dushku) and Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui) are traveling with pals Scott (Jeremy Sisto), Evan (Kevin Zegers) and Francine (Lindy Booth) when they have car trouble in West Virginia. Moments later, motorist Chris (Desmond Harrington) crashes into their disabled vehicle. Stranded, the friends discover that they’re being stalked by a horde of backwoods cannibals. The woodsmen are hungry and fierce, and they’ll be eating well unless Jessie and pals can outsmart them. The inbred mutant killers who stalk and slash the young travelers are Three Finger (Julian Richings), Saw-Tooth (Garry Robbins), and One-Eye (Ted Clark).
Francis told Rue Morgue, “I have always loved Wrong Turn, and have long dreamt of adapting it into prose. And when Alan shared with me the original draft of the script…the full and uncensored story straight from his twisted mind…I knew this book was going to be something extra special, and something fans will absolutely adore!” McElroy added, “I am very excited for fans to read this novelization of my original unabridged screenplay of Wrong Turn. I thank Christian for being open to adapting my script with all its original bloody intensity.“
Are you a fan of Wrong Turn, and are you glad to hear that it’s finally getting the novelization treatment, more than twenty years after it was released? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
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