Sylvester Stallone‘s next project will adapt a popular series of books about a serial killer. He will partner with Channing Powell, a producer on The Walking Dead franchise, to adapt the series for television. The series will adapt New York Times bestselling author J.D. Barker’s 4MK novels.
What do we know about Sylvester Stallone’s 4MK TV show?
The 4MK series comprises many books, but the TV show will draw mostly from the first three books. The books, titled The Fourth Monkey,The Fifth to Die,andThe Sixth Wicked Child, follow Detective Sam Porter on his hunts for the Four Monkey Killer.
“J.D. Barker has created a world with enormous scale, real danger, a ruthless narrative engine, and the kind of mythology that is tailor-made for premium television,” said Stallone in a statement. “Channing Powell is not only a powerhouse writer and producer, but a true creator with a rare command of dark, character-driven storytelling, and she is exactly the right force to bring4MKto the screen. This is the kind of property that audiences don’t just watch, but get pulled into, and it has all the makings of a series that can hit hard, travel globally, and leave a real mark.”
Besides the original trilogy, the series also includes a prequel trilogy, with its first book, The First Scarlet Door, hitting bookstores on September 22, 2026.
“What drew me to4MKimmediately was its intensity, its intelligence, and the way it keeps tightening the screws until you can barely breathe,” said Powell. “Beneath the suspense is a story about guilt, justice, corruption, and the emotional wreckage people leave behind. J.D. Barker has created a world that is bold, dangerous, and deeply addictive, and Sylvester Stallone and the Balboa team provide the invaluable support needed to bring my adaptation to the screen, driving this series toward real scale.”
“From the start,4MKwas designed to be a relentless, psychologically charged ride, one where every revelation cuts deeper, every secret carries a cost, and every character is forced to confront the darkest parts of themselves,” said author Barker.
“Sylvester Stallone and the team at Balboa immediately saw the power, danger, and franchise potential in that world, and Channing brings exactly the kind of instinct for character, tension, and longform storytelling that can make it land with real force on screen. With this creative force,4MKwon’t just be gripping television, it will be the kind of series that gets under people’s skin and stays there. I couldn’t be more excited to see it come to life.”
The upcoming 4MK TV series will see Powell serve as showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Stallone and D. Matt Geller of Balboa Productions will also executive produce. Christian Bersani will oversee the series.
Stallone’s other upcoming projects include a six-part series reportedly set in the 1930s that he will co-direct with Quentin Tarantino. Besides that, Stallone continues to star in Tulsa King.
There are no release dates attached to the upcoming 4MK adaptation.
