Mike Flanaganis working on an excitingStephen Kingadaptation, which seems to be the perfect follow-up to the director’s underrated horror sequel. After proving his ability to adapt classic horror novels for the big and small screens, Flanagan now has a long line of opportunities in the genre lined up for him.
Interestingly, there was a time when Mike Flanagan wanted to adaptStephen King’s1408. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, the rights to the story were already owned by someone else, and its movie adaptation was already in the works. Instead of feeling let down, Flanagan drewinspiration from1408and gave it his own little spin to come up with a short,Oculus.
The director has come a long way since then and has already worked on multipleStephen King adaptations, likeGerald’s GameandThe Life of Chuck. Some of his upcoming movie and television projects will also be based on the author’s work. One of these projects will also be an unofficial successor to his most underrated sequel.
Carrie Is Mike Flanagan’s Second Stephen King Adaptation About Teens With Supernatural Powers After Doctor Sleep
Many Stephen King Characters Have “The Shine”
Illustration of the character Carrie with blood dripping down her face
Directed by Mike Flanagan, 2019’sDoctor Sleepserves as a sequel toThe Shining, following the story of a grown-up Danny Torrance. The movie shows how Danny still possesses “the shine” and also introduces a young character, Abra Stone, who has the same supernatural ability.
As reports have confirmed, Mike Flanagan is also working on a televisionadaptation of Stephen King’sCarrie. Since the titular character in the original novel also has supernatural powers and arguably a version of “the shine,“Carriewill be Flanagan’s second Stephen King adaptation about teenagers with superpowers.
Doctor SleepandCarriehave no direct narrative connections, but their shared theme of young characters grappling with dangerous psychic abilities ties them together. Interestingly, Mike Flanagan is creating another TV adaptation of aStephen King bookseries, which also adopts the same character trope.
Carrie & Doctor Sleep Perfectly Set-Up Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower Adaptation
Dark Tower, Too, Features Individuals With Similar Superpowers
There is an entire story arc in Stephen King’sDark Towernovels where a group of characters, referred to as the Breakers, use their telepathic and telekinetic abilities to attack the Beams. Not all Breakers in the novel series are children, but most of them are. Their exploitation even becomes a major story beat further ahead in the books.
Young characters like Jake Chambers and Alain Johns in theDark Towerseries also possess “the touch,” which is arguably synonymous with “the shine.” Given howMike Flanaganhas already portrayed someStephen Kingprotagonists with the shine, it would be interesting to see how he will capture the same again in his upcoming TV adaptations.
Carrie
Carrie is an adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic novel of the same name, which tells the story of a bullied youth who develops supernatural abilities. Unlike previous adaptations of the work, this version—helmed by Mike Flanagan—will be a series instead of a feature film.
The Dark Tower
The Dark Toweris a multimedia franchise based on Stephen King’s epic series of eight novels. The story follows Roland Deschain, the last of the Gunslingers, as he embarks on a quest to reach the Dark Tower, a mystical structure that stands at the center of all worlds and realities. The series blends elements of dark fantasy, horror, science fiction, and Western genres. Over the years, the franchise has expanded beyond the original books to include a film, comic books, and upcoming TV adaptations, making it one of King’s most ambitious and interconnected works.
Doctor Sleep
Cast
Doctor Sleep, set decades after The Shining, follows Dan Torrance as he confronts his traumatic past at the Overlook Hotel. He encounters Abra, a teenage girl with powerful extrasensory abilities called the “shine,” who enlists his help in battling sinister forces.
