A film adaptation of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep has been in the works for a little while now, but it comes as no surprise given the incredible success of IT that Warner Bros have given the movie a go-ahead and a release date.
We Got This Covered reports that The Shining sequel will hit cinemas on 24 January 2020, which was quickly confirmed by writer-director Mike Flanagan.
Thrilled to say that DOCTOR SLEEP is moving forward! In theaters in 2020! https://t.co/99yDYphssg
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) May 23, 2018
In addition to being one of the best writer-directors currently working in the horror genre, Flanagan is also one of the busiest, having just wrapped his Netflix series adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece The Haunting Of Hill House. He’s also got form when it comes to King movies, as he recently delivered an excellent take on the long-thought-unfilmable Gerald’s Game.
For those who haven’t read Doctor Sleep, it picks up with Danny Torrance decades after the events of The Shining as he struggles with alcoholism and the memories of those traumatic events. His nickname comes from the patients at the care home where he works, who love him for the way he helps the dying old residents to cross peacefully over to the other side. However, he’s going to need to get his shit together to save a gifted young girl from a ghoulish band of soul-eaters known as The True Knot, led by the terrifying Rose The Hat. The book may not live up to its predecessor (obviously), but it’s a surprisingly affecting and pretty damn scary tale and fits very nicely into Flanagan’s wheelhouse of sensitive, emotional horror.
We’re very excited to see what Flanagan does with this, and to see who lands the lead roles of Dan and Rose…
Meanwhile, at this point we’re just going to assume that Mark Romanek’s prequel is lost wandering the corridors of The Overlook, muttering “Great party, isn’t it?” at no one in particular.
Doctor Sleep will be released on 24 January 2020. Keep up with the latest horror news with the new issue of SciFiNow.