Editorial Staff
Shortly after “Gerald’s Game” hit Netflix, director Mike Flanagan was asked which of Stephen King’s other stories he’d be keen to bring to the screen. Someone at Warner Bros must have tuned in for the answer because Flanagan is now attached to direct “Doctor Sleep”, the sequel to “The Shining”.
Cool. Great stuff. Finally, a sequel worth doing. Even better, one of the finest new talents on the block will be spearheading it.
Flanagan will rewrite a script previously penned by “Batman & Robin” and “A Beautiful Mind” scribe Akiva Goldsman. Good thing, probably – the latter is quite hit and miss.
John Cusack, who has fronted a couple of Stephen King adaptations (so-so ones), has long wanted to play Danny Torrance in a “Doctor Sleep” film. Wonder whether he’ll get a look in?
“Doctor Sleep takes place years after the events at the Overlook Hotel and focuses on the the now middle-aged Danny who is still traumatized. He’s followed in his father’s footsteps and has problems with anger management and alcoholism. He soon gives up drinking and settles in a small town in New Hampshire. While there, his psychic abilities start to resurface and he develops a psychic link with a 12-year-old girl named Abra Stone who he must save after he discovers her life is being threatened by a tribe of paranormals led by a man named Rose the Hat.”
Cue the digitally de-aged Jack Nicholson flashback… if they even link this to the original Stanley Kubrick film and don’t just go the “its a sequel to the book” route.
Flanagan has a pretty clear plate right now so chances are the film will Be before the cameras before the end of the year & in theaters sometime next year.
