The Long Walk ending explained: How the movie rewrites Stephen King’s classic finale

The Long Walk is directed by Francis Lawrence and it is based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Released on September 12, 2025, the film features Cooper Hoffman as Raymond Garraty and David Jonsson as Peter McVries in the main cast, alongside Judy Greer and Mark Hamill in supporting roles.

The plot follows 100 young men who compete in an annual walking competition. They have to keep their speed at four miles per hour or risk a ticket warning from the troops, and they are executed quickly following three warnings. The competition ends with only one remaining survivor who takes the prize of wishing anything he wants.

The Long Walk film ending differs significantly from that of the book. Raymond Garraty agrees to his execution, therefore handing the victory to his friend Peter McVries. The conclusion becomes particularly sinister when McVries, who at first preached for a greater good, decides to use his prize to kill the Major in retaliation for Garraty's death.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers about the film. Viewer's discretion advised.

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The Long Walk ending: What changes in the film adaptation?

A still from the film's trailer (Image via YouTube/Lionsgate)

The film adaptation of Stephen King's The Long Walk concludes with a dramatically altered ending. It offers a more conclusive, albeit darker, version of the story's themes of pain and retribution, whereas the book's ending is an exercise in existential fear. Screenwriter JT Mollner claims that Stephen King himself approved of the film's conclusion.

In the movie climax, the final two contestants to survive are Garraty and McVries. In an unexpected development from the book's narrative, Garraty voluntarily gives himself up so the Major can shoot him, and McVries is the only one left alive, resulting in his victory. Consumed by grief and fury, McVries demands a carbine from a soldier to kill the Major.

McVries then publicly kills the Major, avenging Garraty's death and walking off into the distance. The film's ending gives a violent conclusion to The Long Walk, rather than the disappointing fate of the book’s protagonist, in which the final two walkers are Garraty and Stebbins.

When Stebbins suddenly collapses and dies, Garraty is left as the unexpected winner. But the experience has left his mind so broken that he is unable to acknowledge his own victory. Rather, he notices a "dark figure" in the distance and starts running in its direction, still believing that the competition is not over. This image marks the book's conclusion, leaving Garraty's fate up for debate.

Both the film and novel's ending provide a similar depiction that the last remaining survivor is fundamentally broken by the end of the walk, implying that there are no true winners in a death march of The Long Walk. However, the film’s plot to have McVries kill the Major adds a level of political violence and defiance that is absent in the book, turning the personal trauma into a public act of rebellion.

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The Long Walk: Plot difference between the novel and film adaptation

Director Francis Lawrence's film version has several plot differences from that of Stephen King's novel. These changes affect character motivations, key relationships, and the overall conclusion of the story. One of the most notable differences lies in the protagonist's motivation.

Garraty's motivations for embarking on the Long Walk are more mysterious in the book and are connected to an uncertain "compulsion" to do so. However, the movie offers him a specific, personal cause: retaliation. It reveals that the Major's government put his father to death for speaking out, which gives Garraty a clear motivation to win the Walk and murder the Major.

The plot of the film also undergoes other small but significant changes, such as it adjusts Peter McVries's facial scar's origin from a wound caused by a girlfriend to one he sustained as an orphan during a horrific childhood incident. Additionally, some of the book's characters, like Abraham, are either cut out or have their backstories shortened and transferred to other characters.

These changes simplify the story, focusing the plot on Garraty and McVries's friendship and their shared journey of trauma.

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The Long Walk was released on September 12, 2025. Stay tuned for more updates.