Universal acquires rights for Stephen King's 'Tommyknockers' movie

Universal Studios has won the film rights race for illustrious author Stephen King's "Tommyknockers" novel.

The film is being developed by producers James Wan and Roy Lee, Variety reported.

Netflix and Sony were also eyeing the project.

Wan will produce through his Atomic Monster company, while Lee, whose credits include "It", recent movie adaptation of King's novel of the same name, will produce through Vertigo Entertainment.

The duo has got Larry Sanitsky on board, who executive produced the 1993 ABC miniseries adaptation of "The Tommyknockers", starring Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger.

Talking about the film, Sanitsky said the story is an "allegorical tale of addiction" as the novelist was struggling with his own demons at the time.

"... The threat of nuclear power, the danger of mass hysteria, and the absurdity of technical evolution run amuck. All are as relevant today as the day the novel was written. It is also a tale about the eternal power of love and the grace of redemption," he said.

The book was published in 1987 and is set in a town in Maine that falls under the influence of a dangerous gas from an unearthed spacecraft. The gas begins to transform residents, giving them enhanced abilities, but also making them violent.