Original The Shining Actor Thinks Doctor Sleep Looks “Really Good”

On Thursday, the first trailer for the eagerly-anticipated sequel to The Shining, Doctor Sleep was released. The film, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Doctor Sleep which is also a sequel to King’s The Shining, has already earned the praise of King who famously disliked Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film but he’s not the only person with a personal connection to the material already offering praise for the upcoming film. Danny Lloyd, who played young Danny Torrance in The Shining has also chimed in with his own praise for Doctor Sleep.

After the Doctor Sleep trailer dropped, Lloyd told The Hollywood Reporter that he thinks the trailer looks really good, especially with the intriguing inclusion of footage of Lloyd’s character as a child, footage that was reshot for inclusion in Doctor sleep and thus gives the film a connection to both Kubrick’s The Shining and King’s material.

“It looked really good,” Lloyd said. “I was curious since there is a fine line, they have to walk with Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick. It looks like they found a way to pay tribute to both.”

Lloyd also seemed pleased with Ewan McGregor, who plays the adult Danny in the film.

“I am sure he has done a great job with it,” Lloyd said.

The positive response — both from King and now Lloyd — is likely welcome to director Mike Flanagan. During a Q&A event, Flanagan shared with press that finding the right balance in adapting King’s book while also maintaining ties to Kubrick’s film was a challenge and also required King’s blessing.

“When it came to trying to craft the adaptation, I went back to the book first and the big conversation we had to have was about whether or not we could still do a faithful adaptation of the novel as King had laid it out, while inhabiting the universe that Kubrick had created,” Flanagan said. “And that was a conversation that we had to have with Stephen King, to kick the whole thing off. If that conversation hadn’t gone the way it went, we wouldn’t have done the film.”

Thus far, King seems to be pretty happy with Doctor Sleep, tweeting that the film would blow fans’ minds on Thursday and it seems like Lloyd is anticipating the film to be excellent as well. He’s already planning to see it upon release.

“I’d like to see it right when it comes out,” Lloyd said.

Doctor Sleep opens in theaters November 8.