It was revealed last spring that as part of J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot’s overall deal with WarnerMedia that they were developing a host of projects for their HBO Max streaming service including an adaptation of DC’s Justice League Dark franchise, a 1970s crime drama called Duster, and Overlook, a spinoff set in the world of Stephen King’s The Shining. No other major updates on the project have come in the time since then but in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, HBO head Casey Bloys revealed it’s still moving forward, saying: “We haven’t seen anything. I’m excited to see it. They seem encouraged and happy, but I don’t have any update other than they’re busily working away at Bad Robot.”
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It was previously reported that Overlook will feature iconic characters from the horror-thriller, and explore the untold, terrifying stories of the most famous haunted hotel in American fiction. Castle Rock alums, Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown (Bad Robot’s previous effort at a Stephen King property) will write and executive produce the 10-episode drama. The series marks the latest attempt by WarnerMedia to capitalize on King’s novel into other forms having previously developed an Overlook Hotel feature film in 2014, which would have been directed by Tales From the Loop‘s Mark Romanek with a script from The Walking Dead‘s Glen Mazzara.
That project, which was dubbed a “prequel” to The Shining, ended up being stuck in development hell. Warner Bros. ended up expanding the world of The Shining on the big screen in 2019, with the Ewan McGregor-led sequel Doctor Sleep. Director Mike Flanagan conceived of ideas for multiple other movies set within the world ahead of the film’s opening, but its poor reception at the box office put the lid on those plans.
In the same interview Bloys also addressed why the service cancelled their other potential ongoing Stephen King series The Outsider, which wrapped up its first season last year. He said: “We try to approach everything as if there’s going to be season 2. It’s always hard. And it’s always a challenge when you have something that is based on a book and obviously with The Outsider you’ve got a great roadmap. So if you’re going to go and do more without that, you got to make really sure there’s a story to tell. We just didn’t feel like we landed on a story that would live up to the first season.”
