Following the blockbuster success ofIT, Warner Bros. has put their sequel toThe Shining,Doctor Sleep, on the fast track, bringing aboard directorMike Flanagan. The filmmaker is coming off another Stephen King adaptation, the Netflix original movieGerald’s Game, starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood. The filmmaker will rewrite the adapted screenplay, originally written by Akiva Goldsman, although no production start date or release date was given quite yet.
What’s interesting about this news is that it comes just under a month after the director had expressed his interest indirecting this sequelas his next project, and now it’s actually happening. Writer Akiva Goldsman was brought on to adaptDoctor Sleepback in late March 2016, but there hasn’t been any traction on this Stephen King adaptation since then. WhileThe Dark Towerwasn’t nearly as big of a hit as expected, last year was a big one for Stephen King fans, with the massive box office success ofIT, plus Mike Flanagan’s well-receivedGerald’s Gameadaptation and1922for Netflix, and hit TV showsThe MistandMr. Mercedes, so it’s not surprising why the studio would want to put this project on the fast track now.
Doctor Sleepfollows Danny Torrance fromThe Shining, now as an adult in his 40s, who suffers from the same demons of alcoholism and violence that plagued his father, while still carrying the trauma he suffered at the Overlook Hotel as a child. He settles in a New Hampshire town that is also an Alcoholics Anonymous community, and finds a job at a nursing home, where his “shining” abilities provide final comfort to the dying. He meets a young girl named Abra Stone, whose shining abilities are the most powerful he’s ever seen, which re-ignites his own demons, as he tries to save Abra from a tribe of paranormal entities lead by Rose the Hat. Last year there was even a crazy fan theory that connectsThe ShiningtoIT, claiming that the members ofThe Losers Club can all Shine, which is why Pennywise can’t kill them so easily, and while it would be interesting to seeDoctor Sleepconnect toIT, it seems unlikely this will be featured in this adaptation.
It’s been 41 years after its first publication, and 38 years sinceThe Shiningmovie was released, and the story is still more popular than ever, as illustrated by the aforementioned fan theory and much more. Universal Studios debuted aShiningmaze as part of theirHalloween Horror Nightsevent last year. There was also aprequel called The Overlook Hotel, which had Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) attached to direct from a script by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), but there hasn’t been any movement on that project in over two years. PerhapsDoctor Sleepgetting put on the fast track could causeThe Overlook Hotelto be revived as well.
Mike Flanagan’s producing partner Trevor Macy will produce alongside Vertigo Entertainment’s Jon Berg, with Akiva Goldsman serving as an executive producer. Mike Flanagan made his directing debut with 2000’sMakebelieve, while working as a writer, director and an editor on a number of projects, but he had a breakthrough in 2013 with his critically-acclaimed horror-thrillerOculus. Since then, he’s been quite the in-demand filmmaker, writing, directing and editingHush,Before I Wake,Ouija: Origins of EvilandGerald’s Gameall within a two-year span. He is also creating the new seriesThe Haunting of Hill Housefor Netflix, and directing the pilot episode, while also writing the script for a remake ofI Know What You Did Last Summer.Deadlinebroke the news on Mike Flanagan’s involvement inDoctor Sleepearlier today.
