There is perhaps no greater admirer of Stephen King’s work than Mike Flanagan. Already one of the most prolific King adapters, the auteur has a few more on the way, including one that was literally just announced. At this rate, Flanagan is hardly going to have any time to do any other project (other than his new Exorcist movie).
Mike Flanagan to Adapt Stephen King’s The Mist
The Mist is one of Stephen King’s most well-known novellas. It was already adapted once in the late 2000s by legendary director Frank Darabont (and again later as a TV miniseries). Now, it’s going to be done again by Mike Flanagan, who, fittingly, has taken the crown Darabont once held of the filmmaker doing the most with King’s work.
Darabont adapted King’s The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, the latter of which is based on a similarly-named novella from the author. The Mist was the third King project that Darabont took on during his time. Flanagan has already blown past that number. In fact, he’s got three projects coming soon that are all based on King’s work.
The Mist centers on a Maine (of course) town that becomes enveloped by a deadly fog (or mist) after a brutal storm. The survivors end up hunkering down in the local grocery store. Groups form and decide different ways to handle the problems, as the nightmarish situation continues to devolve and inch closer to them. Darabont famously changed the ending of King’s novella and turned it into a wickedly cruel twist.
This is not the only previously adapted work that Flanagan is putting his spin on. In the immediate future, as in this year, the director has Carrie coming out on Amazon Prime. This will be, like The Mist, the third attempt at it, with Brian De Palma’s original adaptation the first King adaptation ever. Carrie broke Flanagan’s personal rule not do a remake or sequel.
It inadvertently started a trend, too. After Carrie, Flanagan is giving his attempt at The Dark Tower. There was a misguided attempt to fit all eight books into one movie with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in 2017. Appropriately, Flanagan is going to stretch it into a show.
Finally, after those two, The Mist is on order from Warner Bros. There are others making King adaptations (like Francis Lawrence, JT Mollner, Edgar Wright, and others), but Flanagan is the go-to. As of now, not much else is known about the project, just that it’s coming from Warner Bros. and that it’ll be written and directed by Flanagan.
When these three are said and done, Flanagan will have done six separate King stories. Arguably, his breakout movie was Gerald’s Game in 2017, and that was the first King story he sank his teeth into. In 2019, he helmed Doctor Sleep, King’s sequel to The Shining. Last year, his take on The Life of Chuck was released.
There’s certainly going to be some argument about remaking King adaptations of existing stories, like Carrie, The Dark Tower, and The Mist. Those have already been brought to life, while others languish in obscurity. Duma Key, The Talisman, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, and others are still waiting while those three get multiple versions.
Still, with Flanagan’s unreal hit rate with King works (as well as his generally impeccable work within the horror genre), it’s difficult to complain much about this. Sure, it would be awesome if the director adapted some of the lesser-known stories, but if there’s a story he wants to tell or a take he wants to provide on a King story, let the man cook.
Conclusion
Mike Flanagan isn’t the only Stephen King adapter out there, but he’s one of the best and easily the most prolific right now. With Carrie, The Dark Tower, and The Mist coming soon, he is only adding to an already impressive catalog of adaptations.
