How Mike Flanagan Will Make ‘Carri...

Horror and literature followers alike shall be excited to listen to that seasoned Stephen King cinematic universe storyteller Mike Flanagan has one thing new deliberate for his Carrie adaptation. The eight episode mini-series proposed by Amazon was an thought Flanagan initially balked at. He instructed Variety, “I initially thought, ‘Why? It’s been completed.”

You may’t blame him for hesitating; the guide has already been tailored a number of instances. However after giving it appreciable thought, he mentioned, “I discovered a solution to that query, and it made me very excited.”

He then turned to somebody who clearly wanted to be a part of the dialogue: famed horror creator Stephen King, who Flanagan has had a fruitful working relationship with—together with on his present function The Life of Chuck.

“However once I went to Steve, his reply was ‘Why?’ His first response was, ‘Go away her alone. She’s been via sufficient.’ But it surely’s that factor the place the extra data I might share, and sending him the bible and the plan for the present, he might see the factor we have been attempting to do this was new.” Flanagan defined. “Then he mentioned with out giving freely an excessive amount of, ‘Ohh, now I’m , simply as a fan. I’m excited to see the place this goes.’ As soon as he mentioned sure, then we have been off, as a result of if Steve had mentioned no, I wouldn’t do it. So the connection has advanced, however he’s at all times remained extremely respectful of separating the guide and the film.”

The Physician Sleep filmmaker seeks to modernize the narrative we learn about Carrie’s wrestle to slot in, not simply in school however at residence. How that might rework within the digital age knowledgeable his take. “The factor I’d say is the unique story is half a century outdated and it’s great. Its themes have been about youth and bullying and the results of that. I imagine that in right now’s fashionable world, the facility of what it means to be a bully, the breadth of that and the influence of bullying, have modified rather a lot,” he mentioned.

“The central tenets are nonetheless the identical, but it surely’s about far more than Carrie White,” Flanagan teased, hinting that whereas different on-screen diversifications centered on Carrie, he plans on deeper explorations of the opposite characters and world round her as nicely.

“I can’t actually discuss what we’re doing, I can solely actually discuss what we’re not doing. We’re not retelling the story because it’s been instructed, and we’re not making a present about telekinesis. It’s in there, however that’s not what it’s about,” he mentioned, ruling out about leaning an excessive amount of into Carrie’s supernatural inclinations. “There’s a model of it the place Carrie White carries a tragic superhero origin story that goes horribly flawed. I really feel like they’ve completed that, too.”

This new model of the story will seemingly tie into how social constructions have change into extra poisonous, within the age of on-line platforms changing into locations of radicalization even when youngsters depart faculties. “We’re targeted far more on the destruction of a group via these very fashionable instruments. What occurs in a world the place the web has created an atmosphere of perceived anonymity? Carrie White within the locker room in each iteration is a horrifying scene,” he mentioned. “Carrie White within the locker room when folks have telephones of their arms is an entire completely different factor.”

That undoubtedly brings to thoughts modern youth-centered dramas corresponding to Adolescence however by means of Stephen King Horror—and we will’t wait to see what Flanagan comes up with.

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