As well as selling over 350 million copies of his books, the works of Stephen King are also among the most heavily-adapted source materials in Hollywood. Brian De Palma’s Carrie was the first to be brought to the big screen way back in 1976, and since then over 50 projects have been based on the author’s writing in some form or another, giving us the incredibly varied likes of The Shining, The Running Man, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and It.
The Stephen King business is still booming, with 2019 alone bringing four adaptations of the prolific writer’s work. The most recent, Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, only hit theaters yesterday but in a recent interview, director Mike Flanagan revealed that he’s already developing another King-based idea.
“Stephen and I are talking actively about what’s next, and we have a great idea that I’m not allowed to talk about yet. But it’s really cool, and yeah, I expect there will be another chance to play in that sandbox very soon.”
The Haunting of Hill House creator is no stranger to King’s work, either, having already directed Gerald’s Game for Netflix, and from the sounds of things, it’s something of a dream come true for the filmmaker to be able to work so closely with somebody that has had a huge influence on his career.
“It’s been my dream since I was a kid to be able to adapt Stephen King, and he’s let me play in that sandbox two times; I would be thrilled to do it again. He’s been happy both times, as long as that keeps up, if he’ll have me back, I’m there for the long haul. I’ll do as many as he’ll let me.”
While notorious duds like The Dark Tower, Dreamcatcher and Maximum Overdrive (which King infamously directed himself) have shown that adaptations of the 72 year-old’s back catalogue can be decidedly hit-or-miss, Mike Flanagan’s filmography has proven that he has a keen grasp and understanding of the horror genre, having also been responsible for Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil and Hill House.
Besides, Doctor Sleep has been earning mixed-to-positive reviews and is on course to top the box office this weekend, so it would be fair to say that Flanagan has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to returning to the Stephen King well yet again.