The Long Walk
Expanding a Sparse Architecture Without Deepening It
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$28 – 42MM
Mythosis universal quests used
3
Audience appeal
~0.80%
Hidden potential
$488– 539MM
Francis Lawrence’s 2025 adaptation of The Long Walk brought Stephen King’s 1979 novel to the screen and there’s much to admire. The film’s atmospheric tension, its stark visual palette and the way it leaned into the camaraderie among doomed participants.
JT Mollner’s screenplay expanded the novel’s skeletal structure with additional quests while remaining faithful to King’s dystopian premise. However, the shallow quest of each character made them unidimensional and ideal for a short story. The film has heart, atmosphere and sincerity. But its architecture couldn’t carry the weight of its vision for 100 minutes. And that’s a lesson worth walking with.
1. The invisible plot structure of The Long Walk
1A. Script of The Long Walk borrows 88% of its events from 3 mythological tales
The Major driven by the desire to dominate others mirrors the quest of Power. This quest borrows events from the tale of Circe in Greek mythology, where both the Major and Circe create a façade of godliness to victimize their subjects.
Peter driven by the desire for fairness and justice mirrors the quest of Idealism. This quest borrows events from the tale of Prometheus in Greek mythology, as Peter attempts to avenge people he cared for when they are exploited or killed.
Ray driven by self-centeredness mirrors the quest of Accumulation. This quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology, as Ray is driven by a selfish motive but eventually undergoes a change of heart and sacrifices his interests.
Mythosis plot structure
17,865
Tales interweaved
Circe, Valmiki & Prometheus
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. Potential of The Long Walk's plot structure: $28 – 42MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code. The Code is a set of principles for creating compelling stories. These storytelling principles reveal the strength of a story’s plot structure.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of The Long Walk
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. The Long Walk uses three universal quests of Power, Idealism and Accumulation. However, none of the quests are used substantially.
- In Blockbusters, every character mirrors ONLY ONE universal quest. Ray borrows from the universal quest of Accumulation. Peter borrows from the quest of Idealism and The Major from Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Ray borrows 10% events from the universal quest of Accumulation. The Major borrows 11% from the quest of Power. Peter borrows 7% from the quest of Idealism.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. The Long Walk’s quest interweaving score of 1 is perfect.
2B. Box office revenue estimation of The Long Walk
Though the film technically wove three quests together, the shallow borrowing resulted in a sparse architecture that stretched thin over 100 minutes!
The Script Score measures the potency of a plot structure. Higher its adherence to the principles of Mythosis Code, greater is the potency. The Script Score helps estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.03
Audience appeal
~0.80%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. How The Hunger Games reimagined The Long Walk
In contrast to The Long Walk, Susan Collins drew inspiration from the same core concept to create a unique and compelling architecture. The Hunger Games excelled by leveraging the source material’s idea, identifying the architectural limitations and reimagining them.
While it retained the dystopian state and the contest, the film changed the world. Crucially, it introduced gamification. This shift enhanced the nature of the contest and altered the participants’ psychological state from mere resignation to active survival.
Rather than preserving the weak scaffolding of the original, Collins erased the slate clean of non-existent quests and inserted three additional universal quests to create a unique and expansive architecture. The film’s compelling architecture rests on the quests of Power, Tranquillity, Preservation and Romance.
This commitment to architectural integrity paid massive dividends. The Hunger Games appealed to 12.24–14.96% of the population.
Check our Blog “Adapting to create unique and compelling stories”
Tags: Circe, Power, Accumulation, Prometheus, Idealism, Valmiki, Francis Lawrence, JT Mollner, Vertigo Entertainment, Lionsgate, 2025