After mentioning last year that he was keen to take on an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, director Mike Flanagan’s wish was granted when, early this year, Warner Bros. gave him the chance to do just that. With production presumably a long way off yet, Warner has already given the film a release date. Doctor Sleep will hit cinemas on January 24th, 2020.
King’s 2013 novel catches up with a now middle-aged Danny Torrance who, having never mentally recovered from his time at the Overlook Hotel, has suppressed his psychic abilities through years of alcohol abuse and squalid living. Eventually settling in a new place and struggling to stay sober, he finds his ‘shine’ returning and develops a psychic link with a young girl named Abra. Discovering that she is being hunted by a tribe of life-sucking paranormals, he dedicates himself to seeking her out and saving her from the group’s evil clutches.
Dialling back on the raw horror considerably when compared to The Shining, Doctor Sleep has a very cinematic feel, and it’s certainly in safe hands with Flanagan. After scoring horror hits with the likes of Oculus, Hush and Before I Wake, the director made a big impression with his 2017 King adap Gerald’s Game, a film that presumably went a long way towards getting him the Doctor Sleep gig.
Flanagan is rewriting a script by Akiva Goldsman, who will act as executive producer. Trevor Macy will produce the film along with Vertigo’s Jon Berg.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
