That would make sense, MB. It took four hours to reduce GWTW to cinema and still massive chunks of the novel were left out. The gamble on this is if the movie "flops." Then there will probably be no sequel, no resolution. Much of King's works can only be done in miniseries or lengthened made-for-TV film adaptations. Originally, The Stand was to be a cinematic release, with King doing most of the screenplay, but they realized there was no possible way, even with a four-hour epic complete with an intermission. Instead, it became a TV miniseries (and brilliantly done). The re-imagining of Carrie in 2002 (not "remake" of the 1976 classic) was also suppose to be a theatrical release, much closer to the novel. Even though the novel is one of King's shortest, the new film version was already surpassing two hours and MGM/UA (which produced the original Sissy Spacek movie and owned the rights) decided to shift it to TV where the ending would change (Carrie survives) to become a pilot that was not picked up. With numerous commercials attached, it ran three hours (over two on DVD with commercials excised). To me, it's the best of the three filmed versions (I know that's heresy - forgive me, Sissy).
Gerard
