Mike Flanagan has become the go-to filmmaker for Stephen King adaptations, and he has two upcoming masterpiece remakes that should set the King fandom on fire. Flanagan has three Stephen King movie adaptations, and he has an upcoming Prime Video series based on a King novel. After directing Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep, and The Life of Chuck, Flanagan’s next King adaptation is a miniseries based on Carrie, the author’s debut novel. This is exciting news, since Flanagan has several fantastic miniseries to his name based on stories by Shirley Jackson, Henry James, and Edgar Allan Poe. Even better is that Flanagan is planning to remake The Mist and has a multi-part series in the works for The Dark Tower.
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While that’s a lot of work, here are five other Stephen King novels that we think would be perfect for Mike Flanagan to remake after he makes Carrie and The Dark Tower.
5) Revival
Revival got positive reviews when Stephen King released it, but not as many King fans have talked about its brilliance. This was King’s darkest story in years, and it was a callback to early King stories where the protagonists rarely won, and when they did, it was at a high cost. Flanagan’s directing style could be perfect for this story about a former minister who renounced God and another man who fell into substance abuse, who seeks this priest out to find out the answers he needs for survival.
There are supernatural elements here, and the best part is that it borders on Lovecraftian horror. The former minister, Jacobs, has the supernatural power to cure people of their illnesses, although that has tragic consequences in the end when the story reveals he is using forces from another world to do this, as he tries to prove there really is life beyond this world. Imagining Flanagan taking on Lovecraftian horror, with the nihilistic views and disturbing monsters, is a tantalizing idea.
4) Duma Key
Mike Flanagan has adapted a lot of horror stories in both his movies and TV shows. However, when he made Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck, he proved he could do drama too, and he even made the supernatural aspects work while never easing off on the drama that made that story and movie so touching. This makes it seem he could be the perfect director to bring Duma Key to life, possibly as a miniseries as part of his new Prime Video deal.
This story follows a man named Edgar Freemantle, a wealthy contractor from Minnesota who loses his right arm in a worksite accident. Now suicidal, his wife files for divorce, and his therapist convinces him to move to an island called Duma Key in Florida. However, once there, he realizes things aren’t right, and a supernatural force has its grip on the people on this island. This is an emotional tale with horror aspects, and Flanagan has proven to be a master of that in his Netflix miniseries.
3) Needful Things
Mike Flanagan has some great miniseries on Netflix that have nothing to do with Stephen King. One of these was an original horror story that Flanagan came up with, called Midnight Mass, which was about an impoverished island community that faced supernatural events when a mysterious priest showed up. This was a hugely successful series, with high critical praise. That it was a new take on vampires was just a bonus.
That makes it sound like Mike Flanagan could be the perfect person to bring Needful Things to the small screen as a miniseries. This has a similar theme to Midnight Mass, where it features a mysterious man coming to a small town in Castle Rock, where he opens a store that destroys the entire town. Here, it was a man named Leland Gaunt who operated his story through trades, and these trades turned the entire community against each other. The twist is that Leland is likely the Devil himself, and this would be a perfect Mike Flanagan miniseries.
2) The Talisman
One Stephen King story that fans have wanted to see for years is The Talisman. This was a book co-written with Peter Straub, and it has such an incredible story that could play out as a miniseries. This could be a brilliant series that could play out similarly to what Flanagan is doing in The Dark Tower, but on a much smaller level. However, it would need a good budget to play out right.
The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Jack Sawyer, whose mother has cancer and refuses to accept treatment, and Jack sets out to help her. This is when Jack finds out about a mysterious place called the Territories, where he might find a Talisman that can save his mother’s life. However, when he learns the Territories is an alternate Earth full of danger, he finds himself in a fight for his life so that he can save his mom. This has everything that Mike Flanagan has proven to be a master at, and could be a perfect adaptation for him to tackle.
1) The Stand
The thing about The Stand is that it has already received two adaptations. The first time was in the 1990s, when a made-for-TV miniseries aired on ABC, which meant it couldn’t include a lot of the darker moments from King’s post-apocalyptic novel. However, with Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, Miguel Ferrer, and more, it remains highly underrated. It ended up remade in 2020 on streaming, and despite the darker tone, it received mixed reviews, and King fans seemed dissatisfied with the adaptation.
Mike Flanagan is talking about making The Mist, which Frank Darabont already adapted into a brilliant movie. If Flanagan can remake a movie that was already great, he should give King’s masterpiece novel a try. Flanagan could take the darkness from The Stand and deliver a story that remains more respectful than the 2020 version and with better effects and production design than the 1990s version.
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