‘The Shining’ Sequel ‘Doctor Sleep’ Snags ‘Oculus’ Director

Doctor Sleep, Stephen King‘s acclaimed sequel novel to The Shining, is being adapted into a movie, and has just landed Mike Flanagan as its director.

The Wrap reports that Flanagan has been tapped by Warner Bros. to helm Doctor Sleep, and will also rewrite the script that was originally turned in by I Am Legend writer Akiva Goldsman, who will still serve as an executive producer on the project.

Flanagan is one of the big rising talents in the horror genre right now, having but out the cult-hit supernatural mind-bender Oculus in 2014 (based on his own horror short), and the prequel film Ouija: Origin of Evil in 2016, which was vastly superior to its predecessor.

Directors Andy Muschietti and David F. Sandberg were two other directors who turned their horror shorts (Mama and Lights Out, respectively) into a string of cult-hit horror successes; now they’re both directing big tentpole franchises for Warner Bros., in the forms of IT and Shazam! (respectively). That’s all to say: this is just the next step in WB’s plan to develop and position these horror maestros as major talents for the studio.

Hopefully the trend continues with Flanagan’s work on Doctor Sleep, a project that his surely scrutinized and compared to Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1980 adaptation of The Shining. Of course Kubrick’s film was a purposeful departure from King’s novel, so Flanagan will have the added challenge of pleasing both King readers and fans of the Kubrick film. Good luck to him.