‘Gerald’s Game’ Filmmaker Interested in Adapting Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’ Sequel

Director Mike Flanagan shocked the most devout Stephen King fans earlier this year with his adaptation of Gerald’s Game, which many readers thought would be an impossible task. The film seemed to be a hit with the author’s fans, causing the director to share some of the other stories he’d be interested in adapting, which includes Lisey’s Story and the sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep.

“There are so many. But the ones I’d want to do the most are Doctor Sleep and Lisey’s Story,” Flanagan told Lilja’s Library. “In both cases, it’s because I identify with the protagonists so much. Lisey’s Story is a stunning piece of work, a beautiful exploration of marriage. And who wouldn’t want to venture back into the world of Danny Torrence?”

Flanagan isn’t the only one who hopes that Lisey’s Story gets the live-action treatment, as even King himself hopes it one day gets an adaptation.

“Lisey’s Story is my favorite of the books and I would love to see that done, especially now that there’s a kind of openness on the streaming services on TV and even the cable networks,” King told Variety earlier this year. “There’s more freedom to do stuff now and when you do a movie from a book, there’s this thing that I call the sitting on a suitcase syndrome.”

The author went on to elaborate upon his theory, detailing, “That is where you try to pack in all the clothes at once and the suitcase won’t close, so you just sit on it until it latches. And sometimes when it comes down on the baggage carousel, it busts open and your dirty laundry is everywhere. So it’s tough to take a book that is fully textured and has all the wheels turning and do it in two hours and 10 minutes. But as a TV show you have 10 hours, there’s always the possibility of doing something like The Handmaid’s Tale, which is extraordinary.”

Given how hot of a property Doctor Sleep would potentially be, the odds of that story getting adapted seems far less likely, but the success of Gerald’s Game could lead towards another partnership with Netflix for either a movie or TV series.

Gerald’s Game is currently streaming on Netflix.

[H/T Lilja’s Library]