Stephen King’s Carrie Getting Limited Series Adaptation at FX

After two feature films (one of which had a direct-to-VHS sequel), a TV movie, a stage play (that got a revival years later!), and even an episode of Riverdale, Stephen King‘s Carrie is being adapted once again — this time as a miniseries on FX. In an ear where prestige TV is taking over a lot of the entertainment space, and King’s work is ubiquitous, it is perhaps not surprising that Carrie is finding yet another life. Collider reports that the character of Carrie White is likely to be played either by a woman of color or a trans woman this time around.

Carrie told the story of a bullied high school girl with a domineering, evangelical mother, and the way her life changed when she began developing extraordinary abilities, including telekinesis. A longer-form version of the story could plausibly take Carrie through high school (or, if designed for a single season, just through her senior year), going in to more depth than previous adaptations regarding the challenges she faces from peers and her mother.

There are basically no additional details about the FX series, including who might be writing it or otherwise involved beyond MGM Television. MGM and United Artists have been behind the previous adaptations as well, and have a successful relationship with FX that includes the Fargo TV series.

The first adaption of Carrie came in 1976, just two years after the book was released, from writer Lawrence D. Cohen and director Brian De Palma. The film starred Sissy Spacek as Carrie, Piper Laurie as Margaret, Amy Irving as Sue, Nancy Allen as Chris, John Travolta as Billy, Betty Buckley as Miss Collins (changed from Miss Desjardin), and William Katt as Tommy. Spacek and Laurie received Academy Award nominations for their performances, and the movie remains one of the best-loved King adaptations to date — an impressive distinction considering that there are literally dozens.

In 1999, MGM released a sequel to the film, titled The Rage: Carrie 2. In the film, it was revealed that Carrie’s father had numerous affairs and had another daughter, who also had telekinetic powers. Amy Irving reprised her role as Sue Snell from the first film, her character now matured into a school counselor.

In 2002, NBC aired a TV movie based on Carrie, starring Angela Bettis as Carrie, Kandyse McClure as Sue, Emilie de Ravin as Chris, and Patricia Clarkson as Margaret. It may have been intended as a TV pilot at one stage in its development, because in this version, Carrie survives the end of the story. That same year, USA Network debuted a long-running adaptation based on The Dead Zone, another early Stephen King novel in which the lead character dies at the end.

In 2013, MGM and Screen Gems released a new movie, written by future Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who at that time was fresh off writing The Stand comics for Marvel. The film was directed by Boys Don’t Cry‘s Kimberly Peirce, and was ostensibly based more on the original novel than on the De Palma film. Chloë Grace Moretz plays Carrie, with Julianne Moore as Margaret White, Judy Greer as Miss Desjardin and Gabriella Wilde as Sue Snell.