Stephen King Thought ‘Carrie’ Remake Was “Dumb Idea” — This Major Change Convinced Him
“It”’s author was just fine with Brian De Palma’s 1976 movie before Mike Flanagan came in with his own vision of “Carrie”’s story.
For decades, Stephen King’s novels and short stories have remained Hollywood’s powerhouse, so the author is definitely not a stranger to developing yet another screen version of a novel that was already adapted years ago.
There’s only days left until the premiere of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, which comes as a second adaptation of King’s novel after the 1987 movie, while the writer’s hit debut horror novel “Carrie” is being in the works at Mike Flanagan’s, turning the book into a TV series this time.
The latter, however, first had to convince King and make him believe that the world now needs another version of “Carrie” more than anything else — Flanagan’s unique vision was what eventually made King want the fresh take on the famous story.
Stephen King Praises Mike Flanagan’s ‘Carrie’ for “a Lot of the Vibe of School”
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Even though Flanagan is known as that one director who Stephen King trusts with all his heart, the author was initially hesitant about a necessity of another ‘Carrie’ project, stating that Brian De Palma’s 1976 iconic horror was good enough even compared to modern flicks.
Flanagan, however, insisted that “Carrie”’s plot transported to the modern day will be a relevant TV series, considering that kids hiding from shooters in schools and bullying have become a new devastating norm in the US society.
Eventually, this take on the novel’s plot won King over, with the writer eventually coming on board for the show and suggesting Mike Flanagan’s Carrie will draw the younger audiences’ attention thanks to incorporating new modern elements like cellphones and social media.
Mike Flanagan Calls ‘Carrie’ “One of My Favorite Projects Ever”
The director’s new TV series went into production quite quickly after being announced last October, with the filming wrapping just days ago, as Flanagan himself revealed in his Instagram account.
In the post, he shared a picture of his director’s chair stained with blood and featuring signs from the leading cast members.
“Our last day of filming on CARRIE. This has been one of the best experiences of my career, one of the very best ensembles I’ve ever worked with, and already one of my favorite projects ever. Cannot wait for you guys to see what we made”, Flanagan captioned the picture.
The director hasn’t yet said anything about Carrie’s possible release date, but the show is expected to be dropped on Amazon Prime Video sometime in 2026.
