Horror maestro Mike Flanagan is once again returning to the realm of Stephen King. After the success of his adaptation of the author’s The Life of Chuck on the festival circuit and its recent acquisition by Neon, the Fall of the House of Usher helmer is now set to put his own spin on Carrie with an eight-episode series through Amazon. The project is part of the new overall deal Flanagan‘s Intrepid Pictures banner has with Amazon MGM Studios, with him set to write the series and executive produce with his regular partner Trevor Macy, while Melinda Nishioka oversees the project for their company.
Released in 1974, Carrie was instrumental in launching King to superstardom as a horror author. The novel follows the titular Carrie White, an outcast from an abusive religious household who discovers she has telekinetic powers. She eventually turns on her town of Chamberlain, Maine when an attempt to make up for the merciless bullying instead devolves into a vicious prank that finally pushes Carrie over the edge. Unlike some of King‘s other “unfilmable” novels, Carrie already has one successful attempt to bring it to screens with Brian de Palma‘s 1976 classic starring Sissy Spacek. That hasn’t stopped other filmmakers from tackling the source material through a sequel to de Palma‘s film and adaptations in 2002 and 2013.
Flanagan‘s take is ramping up fast as a writer’s room is already open for the series. With eight episodes to work with, his Carrie will have a lot more room to breathe and flesh out the destruction of Chamberlain. Of any horror director in the business, he’s arguably the best-equipped to tackle the job after successfully bringing to life King‘s The Life of Chuck, Gerald’s Game, and Doctor Sleep in the eyes of both critics and the author, while also plugging away at The Dark Tower. The logline for the series describes it as a “bold and timely reimagining” of Carrie’s life under her domineering religious mother that picks up after her father’s untimely death as she “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.”
Everyone and Their Mother Is Adapting Stephen King Right Now
King has always been a favorite to translate to the medium of film and television, but the author’s work has been mined especially aggressively of late. Carrie marks the second such series adaptation of his work getting underway after A24 revived Fairy Tale as a television show with Paul Greengrass taking the reins. On the film side of things, The Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence is taking on the challenge of The Long Walk while Jack Bender is set to helm The Institute. Gary Dauberman‘s Salem’s Lot also recently reached the light of day at last on Max. The project getting the most attention right now, however, is Edgar Wright‘s The Running Man, which has been aggressively bolstering its cast around leading man Glen Powell.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the upcoming Carrie series adaptation as work gets underway. You can stream the 1976 adaptation on AMC+.
via Collider