What Happened to the Disney Philip K. Dick Adaptation ‘The King of the Elves’?
Philip K. Dick was one of the best science fiction authors in Hollywood. The writer is responsible for some of the biggest and most influential sci-fi stories in the genre, with several of his works making it into TV and film adaptations.
While most of his work usually gets swept up, one has remained in production limbo for over a decade. So what happened to Dick’s Disney adaptation, The King of the Elves?
What is ‘The King of the Elves’ about?
The King of the Elves is a short story written by Dick that was first published in 1953. The story follows an old man named Shadrach who owns a gas station in the fictional Derryville, Colorado. While Shadrach doesn’t make a lot of money running the gas station, he makes enough to sustain his humble lifestyle.
One day, he spots a couple of sickly elves standing in the rain outside and invites them into his home for a warm place and to recover. However, he begins questioning whether he actually believes in the existence of elves. When he goes to check on them, he finds the king of the elves dead in his bed.
The king’s final wish to the elves is for them to make Shadrach the king. An excited Shadrach tells his longtime friend Phineas, who tells everyone in the community, and they castigate him. That night, one elf informs Shadrach of a meeting to plan for war against the trolls. While Shadrach decides to go, he tells the elf to choose another king.
Shadrach, however, forgets his meeting with the elves and instead visits his friend Phineas. As it gets dark outside, Phineas shows Shadrach out, but the latter discovers his friend is a troll.
Phineas and other trolls attack Shadrach, who fights back. He is saved by the elves, who thank him for killing Phineas the Great Troll. Shadrach insists on returning to his old life, but after looking at his poor lifestyle, he opts to take on the mantle of king of the elves.
‘The King of the Elves’ has been in production hell for years
A King of the Elves adaptation was first announced by Walt Disney Animations Studios in April 2008, and it was slated for a 2012 release. Disney announced that directors Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker would take on directorial duties on the 3D adaptation.
Details about the film remained hush at the time until 2009, when SlashFilm revealed that Disney had canned the project. Blaise finally confirmed the rumors in 2010 after leaving Disney for Digital Domain.
No further information was provided on the project. Things went dark until July 2010 when production on the adaptation sprung back up again. This time, Bolt director Chris Williams was calling the shots and aimed for a 2013 release. This new development also revealed that King of the Elves would switch its setting from Derryville to the Mississippi Delta.
This revival would hit yet another snag in 2011. Frozen was given the 2013 release date instead, and William moved on to working on Big Hero 6 after reportedly losing interest in the project. This was the last time audiences ever heard of news regarding a King of the Elves adaptation. The project faded away from consciousness.
Other Philip K. Dick adaptations that made it to the screen
Perhaps one of Dick’s most successful adaptations is the 1982 film Blade Runner, adapted from his 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Starring Harrison Ford, the movie follows his character, a Blade Runner tasked with hunting down rogue replicants. The movie got a sequel in 2017 starring Ryan Gosling, but it didn’t do well.
2017’s TV show The Man in The High Castle takes on a What-If type of format with Japan and Germany as the world’s superpowers. The series was successful and received critical acclaim. Other Dick adaptations include Electric Dreams starring Bryan Cranston, Minority Report starring Tom Cruise, A Scanner Darkly starring Keanu Reeves and The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt.
