Why Stephen King Almost Rejected Mike Flanagan for Directing ‘The Life of Chuck’

Stephen King, known for his vast body of horror literature, has seen many of his novels adapted into films and TV shows. One director who's had the chance to work on several King projects is Mike Flanagan, a filmmaker acclaimed for his work in the horror genre. However, Flanagan still dreams of adapting more of King’s stories.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Flanagan discussed his upcoming film ‘The Life of Chuck’, based on King’s novella from the 2020 collection ‘If It Bleeds’, which stars Tom Hiddleston. Along with this, Flanagan is also working on adapting King’s epic fantasy series ‘The Dark Tower’ into a series for Prime Video. 

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However, Flanagan revealed that one King project slipped through his fingers—’Revival’, the 2014 horror novel. He had written a script for it, which he described as one of his best works, but the project fell apart because King generally prefers filmmakers to focus on one of his adaptations at a time. 

Flanagan explained that King doesn’t like when a director holds rights to more than one project, as it means something may remain unproduced. This nearly cost Flanagan the chance to adapt ‘The Life of Chuck’, since he already had the rights to ‘The Dark Tower’. 

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Flanagan has successfully adapted other King works in the past, including ‘Gerald’s Game’ (2017) and ‘Doctor Sleep’ (2019), both of which received critical praise. ‘The Life of Chuck’ is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, while ‘The Dark Tower’ is still in early development. Flanagan’s track record with King adaptations, combined with his original films like ‘Oculus’ and ‘Hush’, has cemented his reputation as a modern horror auteur.

–Farheen Ali