Mike Flanagan has added yet another Stephen King adaptation to his list of in-the-works projects. The latest? He’s going all the way back to the beginning of the horror maestro’s literary career with Carrie.
Flanagan will be creating an eight-episode series for Amazon based on King’s career-making 1974 novel, which has been adapted to screen several times, but not as an episodic TV series.
The series has gotten the official green light from the streaming service. In a statement, Amazon MGM Studios head Vernon Sanders said, “Carrie is an iconic story that has withstood the test of time with continued cultural relevance. With Mike Flanagan at the helm… this provocative series is sure to captivate our global customers.”
So what is there to know so far about this new Carrie adaptation series? Here’s a look.
When will Carrie be released?
It’s unknown at this time when Mike Flangan’s new vision of Carrie will premiere, but we do know that it is expected to be eight episodes and debut on Amazon Prime Video as part of the auteur’s deal with that streamer. It is reportedly set to begin production this summer.
Who will star in Carrie?
Starring as Carrie in the adaptation will be Summer H. Howell, and the character Sue Snell will be played by Siena Agudong. Deadline reports that Matthew Lillard will play Principal Grayle (he previously collaborated with Flanagan in his adaptation of King’s The Life of Chuck).
Flanaverse regular Samantha Sloyan will portray Carrie’s religious zealot mother Margaret White (a role that’s somewhat similar to her part in Flanagan’s Midnight Mass; she also previously worked with Flanagan in The Fall of the House of Usher).
Other members of the cast, per Deadline, include Alison Thornton as teen bully Chris Hargensen, Thalia Dudek as Emaline, Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, Amber Midthunder as Miss Desjardin, Josie Totah as Tina, Arthur Conti as Billy, and Joel Oulette as Tommy, Carrie’s fateful date to the prom.
Flanagan will executive produce alongside Trevor Macy.
Where does this story fit into the Carrie-verse?
Previous adaptations of Carrie include, perhaps most famously, Brian de Palma’s 1976 adaptation of the novel featuring Sissy Spacek in the titular role, the 1999 horror sequel The Rage: Carrie 2, the 2002 TV movie with Angela Bettis and Patricia Clarkson, and the 2013 film featuring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore as Carrie and her mother. This appears to have no relation to any of those prior adaptations and is instead a fresh take on the novel.
The logline from Amazon reads, “The series is a bold and timely reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden and untimely death, Carrie 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.”
What else is there to know about Carrie?
Perhaps the most important thing to know about this adaptation at this time is that Flanagan has proven to be one of the foremost adapters of King’s properties of all time — especially in the modern era. Flanagan previously adapted Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck to great acclaim and is also in the process of adapting the author’s magnum opus, The Dark Tower. In other words, this adaptation is clearly already in good hands.