Mike Flanagan Signs on as Showrunner for Stephen King Property

Carrie is one of Stephen King’s most adapted stories to date. We have De Palma’s Carrie, The Rage: Carrie 2, the made for TV adaptation from 2002, and the 2013 remake starring Chloë Grace Moretz. So, I was a little surprised to learn (via Deadline) that Mike Flanagan is adapting the Stephen King property once again. But that doesn’t mean I’m not mighty curious.

What sets this latest adaptation apart is that it will be an eight-episode Prime Video series, rather than a feature. Flanagan will reportedly serve as the showrunner, executive producing alongside Trevor Macy.

What does Stephen King think about Mike Flanagan adapting Carrie?

Since the news just broke, we haven’t heard any word from Stephen King on this development. But I think it’s safe to say the beloved author has plenty of trust in Mike Flanagan as a collaborator. Flanagan previously adapted Geralds Game, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck. King has praised all three of those efforts and is even working with the Hush director to develop an update of The Dark Tower.

I think almost any King property has the potential to thrive as a series. A King novel is a lot to adapt into a two-hour film. De Palma did remarkably well with Carrie. But it’s impossible not to lose some of the nuance when adapting a lengthy tome for the screen. With that in mind, I am very curious to see what Flanagan has in store. Carrie is a dynamic character and there are ample themes within the novel to explore and unpack. I’m optimistic that Flanagan will do justice to the source material.

The setup for Brian De Palma’s Carrie goes as follows:

In this chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel, withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers. Invited to the prom by the empathetic Tommy Ross (William Katt), Carrie tries to let her guard down, but things eventually take a dark and violent turn.

That’s all we have for you at present. Stay tuned to Dread Central for more exciting updates on what your favorite creatives are getting up to. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (I won’t ever call it X) so you’re never out of the loop.

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