Just a month after horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan spoke about wanting to adapt Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining into a feature film, he’s been hired to do just that. According to Deadline, Doctor Sleep has been put “on the fast track” at Warner Bros., with Flanagan at the helm.
Image: Warner Bros.
The director, who will also rework the script originally adapted by Akiva Goldsman, is an obvious choice for the gig – and not just because of that interview he gave in December, where he said, “Who wouldn’t want to venture back into the world of Danny Torrance?” – he has credentials well beyond being just a fan.
Flanagan’s take on King’s “unfilmable” Gerald’s Game for Netflix was a hit that impressed even King himself, who called it “horrifying, hypnotic, terrific“. And Flanagan is widely seen as one of horror’s rising stars, with films such as Absentia, Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Hush and Before I Wake packed into his resume over just the past seven years. Currently, he’s working on another genre project based on a famous book: The Haunting of Hill House, an upcoming series for Netflix inspired by Shirley Jackson’s 1959 classic.
Doctor Sleep, however, will likely be his most high-profile project to date, considering the huge and enduring popularity of The Shining. King’s book picks up with a middle-aged Danny Torrance years after the events at the Overlook Hotel, still psychic but in struggle mode, and soon to be targeted by a new supernatural menace. Redrum!
There’s no timeline yet on the film adaptation (or casting news for what is sure to be a sought-after starring role), but given the fact that both Flanagan and Stephen King adaptations are white-hot right now, it’s probably safe to say we won’t have to wait too long for an update.
[Deadline]