Whether it be The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or Game of Thrones, narratives which unfold in mysterious and magical worlds have become some of the biggest franchises in pop culture over the last few decades, with various networks and studios beginning the hunt to find out what would be the next fantastical fixation. Similarly, recent years have seen the works of Stephen King become massive successes, whether it was the adaptations of IT, the miniseries 11/22/63, or the homage Castle Rock, the author’s works get more popular by the day. Hulu aims to capture both of these trends by adapting King’s novel The Eyes of the Dragon for an upcoming series.
Deadline described the story, “King Roland’s manipulative magician, Flagg, sees his power threatened when Queen Sasha gives birth to Peter, an heir to the throne. When the queen is pregnant with a second son, Flagg gets her midwife to mortally wound the queen and so begins his plot to dispose of the future king. Peter brings wine to his father’s bed chambers each night and Flagg poisons the potion and frames the son. The magician has meanwhile also been manipulating the younger son, Thomas, showing him secret passages where the boy can spy on his father. Thomas sees the murder of the king and the frameup of his brother, but is torn when Peter is found guilty and locked in an enormous tower. After all with Peter gone, he’s king at age 12. He allows Flagg widespread power that corrupts the kingdom. Meanwhile, Peter must attempt an escape to thwart Flagg and win back the throne.”
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King is mostly known for his horror fare, though some of his stories delve more deeply into the world of fantasy, with The Eyes of the Dragon having connections to his more well-known The Dark Tower series of novels. Deadline pointed out that The Eyes of the Dragon served as a way for King to explore other literary worlds without feeling as tied to the horror genre, while also offering his young sons a more accessible narrative. The backlash to the novel from fans demanding more gruesome stories helped motivate the idea for Misery, depicting a deranged fan who captures her favorite writer to force him to write stories exploring her specific demands.
Seth Grahame-Smith, who produced the recent IT adaptations and the upcoming Child’s Play reboot, will write the first episode and serve as the series’ showrunner.
“I am so excited to be working in the world of Stephen King with Hulu, which has such a terrific track record with Stephen King adaptations,” Grahame-Smith shared with Deadline. “The goal for this series is to feel unlike any Stephen King adaptation before, with this rich underlying source material, and the only true fantasy book he wrote that has kings and swords and princesses. We will honor the spirit of the book and the legacy.”
Stay tuned for details on The Eyes of the Dragon.
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