Strange happenings are afoot in the official trailer for MGM+’s The Institute. The latest adaptation of a Stephen King-penned novel will turn the 2019 book into an on-screen production that arrives on the streamer on July 13. Starring up-and-comer Joe Freeman, with an ensemble that includes the talents of Emmy and Golden Globe-recipient Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds), Ben Barnes (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), and more, the debut teaser reveals that audiences are in for an incredibly twisty ride.
Luke Ellis (Freeman) isn’t like the other kids his age. While others might fall behind in school or have a difficult time picking up some of the material thrown their way, Luke’s brain works double time — something that his parents pridefully talk with him about over dinner. Unfortunately, his aptitude for learning will come at a price when he’s kidnapped from his home and taken to a mysterious building known only as The Institute. It’s there, in the middle of a forest and behind barbed-wire fences, that a group of researchers led by Ms. Sigsby (Parker) studies the brains of Luke and others like him. But those studies come at a cost to the subjects, as each of the kids at the center is put through excruciating pain while Ms. Sigsby and her team extract the data they need. Meanwhile, on the outside, a former police officer named Tim Jamieson (Barnes) receives a tip that puts him on a collision course with The Institute.
Filling out the project’s supporting lineup are Simone Miller (Detention Adventure), Hannah Galway (Under the Banner of Heaven), Martin Roach (The Expanse), Fionn Laird (Under the Banner of Heaven), Robert Joy (The Hills Have Eyes), and Julian Richings (Supernatural).
Who Is Behind ‘The Institute’?
You’d better believe that Stephen King isn’t simply passing off one of his stories to be adapted without his stamp of approval. After being burned in the past, King tends to be involved, in one way or another, with any on-screen makeover that his stories might be receiving. In the case of The Institute, the prolific writer serves as an executive producer alongside Benjamin Cavell, Gary Barber, Sam Sheridan, Ed Redlich, and Jack Bender, the latter of whom also joins as the series’ director from a teleplay penned by Cavell.
In addition to The Institute, this summer has already seen the cinematic release of Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, which serves as an adaptation of King’s short story of the same name. Beyond the summer, King’s dystopian novel, The Long Walk, will also be treated to a feature-length telling by filmmaker Francis Lawrence, which arrives in cinemas on September 12.
Check out the debut trailer for The Institute above.
via Collider