Mike Flanagan at N.Y. Comi-Con, Photo by Nobuhiro Hosoki
Director Mike Flanagan is reportedly working on an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Carrie as an eight-episode series for Amazon MGM Studios. According to Deadline, Flanagan will serve as writer and showrunner for the project and share the executive producer role with Trevor Macy of Intrepid Pictures.
The upcoming series is described in the official logline as a “bold and timely reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden and untimely death, Carrie finds herself contending with the alien landscape of public High School, a bullying scandal that shatters her community, and the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.”
Flanagan will be bringing his expertise in the horror genre to the Carrie project. He’s been acclaimed for several Netflix TV shows, including The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mass. Among the films he’s directed have been Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, and The Life of Chuck, all of which are based on Stephen King’s fiction.
Published in 1974, Carrie was Stephen King’s first novel, which ended up on the best-seller lists. Two years later, Brian DePalma directed a film adaptation with Sissy Spacek playing the title role. Other actors who appeared in that movie included Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, Amy Irving, William Katt, Piper Laurie, and John Travolta. It was a critical and financial success, having grossed more than $30 million on a budget estimated at less than $2 million.
There have been several other adaptations of the Carrie novel. A sequel titled The Rage: Carrie 2 was released in 1999. In 2013, a remake of the original 1976 film was released, starring Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore.
Flanagan had hoped to direct another film based on one of King’s stories, but nothing came of it. As the director told The Hollywood Reporter: “I wrote a script for Stephen King’s Revival one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, but it fell apart. That’s gone now because I have The Dark Tower. Stephen doesn’t like to have you sitting on more than one thing at a time. It means something’s not getting made.”
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