Stephen King may be working on the third novel for The Talisman, but we have bad news for the long-gestating adaptation from “Stranger Things“ creators Matt and Ross Duffer.

The Duffer Brothers confirmed to CBR in an interview that their adaptation of The Talisman, initially reported in 2021, is no longer moving forward.

Ross Duffer told the outlet, “Sadly, Talisman is no longer at Netflix, so we’re not involved.” He continued, “When I interned, when I was really, you know, back in college at Kennedy Marshall, I remember reading, I think it was a movie script for Talisman. So it’s been in development forever, so I’m sorry that we were not the ones to break the curse.”

Published in 1984 and written byStephen King and Peter Straub, the fantasy epic novel is one of the few King stories that has not yet been adapted for film or television. This is despite Steven Spielberg owning the rights to the book since the ’80s, with various planned adaptations taking different forms over the years.

The Duffer Brothers were set to team up with Spielberg, with Netflix producing alongside Amblin Entertainment, but the creators recently set up a new deal with Paramount and have set their exit date with Netflix for April 2026.

In The Talisman, “Jack Sawyer, twelve years old, is about to begin a most fantastic journey, an exalting, terrifying quest for the mystical Talisman—the only thing that can save Jack’s dying mother. But to reach his goal, Jack must make his way not only across the breadth of the United States but also through the wondrous and menacing parallel world of the Territories.

In the Territories, Jack finds another realm, where the air is so sweet and clear a man can smell a radish being pulled from the ground a mile away—and a life can be snuffed out instantly in the continuing struggle between good and evil. Here, Jack discovers ‘Twinners,’ reflections of the people he knows on earth—most notably Queen Laura, the Twinner of Jack’s own imperiled mother. As Jack “flips” between worlds, making his way westward toward the redemptive Talisman, a sequence of heart-stopping encounters challenges him at every step.”

Though The Talisman is now dead at Netflix and the Duffer Brothers are set to depart soon, look for the “Stranger Things” finale on New Year’s Eve and supernatural series “The Boroughs” next year.