J.J. Abrams has already made a stamp on some of the biggest properties around today, and fans have been excited to see what he would do as part of his new overall deal with WarnerMedia. On Thursday, we got our first indication of what that will entail — and it included a pleasant surprise for horror fans. One of three series that Abrams will be executive producing for WarnerMedia’s HBO Max service will be Overlook, a spinoff set in the world of Stephen King’s The Shining. This was confirmed through a new report from The Hollywood Reporter.
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Overlook will feature iconic characters from the horror-thriller, and explore the untold, terrifying stories of the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction. This will be Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV’s latest adaptation of a King property, after Hulu’s anthology series Castle Rock. The 10-episode drama will reportedly be written and executive produced by two Castle Rock alums, Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown. Overlook has reportedly also opened a “mini writers room”, allowing for progress to be made on scripts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is just one of three shows that Abrams will initially bring to HBO Max, including an adaptation of DC’s Justice League Dark franchise, and a 1970s crime drama called Duster.
“What an amazing start to our association with the wildly imaginative Bad Robot team under J.J. and Katie,” Kevin Reilly, chief content officer at HBO Max, said in a statement. “What could be better than an original J.J. idea and then Warner Bros. letting them loose on iconic IP from Stephen King and the DC Universe and to provide more must-have programming on HBO Max.”
Warner Media previously developed an Overlook Hotel feature film in 2014, which would have been directed by Tales From the Loop‘s Mark Romanek with a script from The Walking Dead‘s Glen Mazzara. That project, which was dubbed a “prequel” to The Shining, ended up being stuck in development hell. Warner Bros. ended up expanding the world of The Shining on the big screen last year, with the Ewan McGregor-led sequel Doctor Sleep.
What do you think of J.J. Abrams taking on the world of The Shining? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
HBO Max is expected to launch in May.
