There’s a good chance that Rob Reiner’s version might’ve worked, especially considering how some of his best movies were other adaptations of Stephen King’s work, though it’s hard to imagine Reiner’s Shawshank Redemption being quite as well-regarded (and constantly on TNT) as this version.
The film received seven Oscar nominations, including one for Darabont himself, and as it was noted before, the movie is quite widely considered one of the best movies ever.
Frank Darabont then cast Tim Robbins in the role of Andy Dufresne, the film’s imprisoned protagonist, and it certainly worked out for the first-time director.