Writer/director Mike Flanagan has already made two of the all-time best Stephen King adaptations. In 2017, he worked his magic to bring us the horrifying character study that is Gerald’s Game, and two years later, he pulled off a cinematic miracle with Doctor Sleep – which has helped aleve the notorious animosity that the author feels toward Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Given this track record, it’s hard not to have exceptionally high expectations for his third King film, the upcoming The Life Of Chuck – and star Tom Hiddleston certainly isn’t doing anything to decrease hype. In a new interview, he has compared the movie to another one of the best King movies ever: Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption.
With the finale of Loki Season 2 dropping on Disney+ last week and the SAG-AFTRA strike now over, CinemaBlend’s own Erik Swann did a virtual interview with Hiddleston earlier today, and they in part spoke about the actor’s upcoming Stephen King adaptation. Asked about his personal experience with the author, the Marvel star recalled both his love for Shawshank Redemption and noted what it shares in common with The Life Of Chuck. Said Hiddleston,
I remember seeing the Shawshank Redemption when I was about 12 or 13 years old, and I think [it’s] still probably one of my top five favorite films of all time – because there is a warmth and a strength of spirit and a kind of overarching philosophy that is resolutely on the side of life and love that's at the center of that story. And I think it's that Stephen King that’s behind The Life of Chuck, the same warmth, same spirit.
The Life Of Chuck is based on the novella of the same name, which was first published in the 2020 Stephen King omnibus If It Bleeds. A cerebral and emotional piece of writing, the story is split into three sections and they unfold in reverse chronological order – beginning with the titular Chuck dying from a brain tumor at the age of 39.
Tom Hiddleston will be playing the eponymous character in the upcoming movie, which started filming in Alabama last month with permissions from SAG-AFTRA during the strike. This is the first time that he has worked with Mike Flanagan, but he is surrounded in the cast by many of Flanagan’s regulars – including Annalise Basso, Matt Biedel, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Rahul Kohli, Heather Langenkamp, Carl Lumbly, Violet McGraw, Molly C. Quinn, Sauriyan Sapkota, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, and Michael Trucco.
Speaking about his first time working with Mike Flanagan and joining the filmmaker’s special troupe, Hiddleston remarked,
I had the most wonderful experience working with Mike Flanagan and with the company of performers that he assembled. I find it a very moving and beautiful story.
As you can tell by the use of past tense, Tom Hiddleston has completed his work on The Life Of Chuck (Karen Gillan recently celebrated wrapping with a TikTok video a few days ago), but we sadly don’t know when we’re actually going to see the film, as distribution plans have not yet been announced. Stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about the movie, and be sure to head back to the site every Thursday for my column The King Beat, which coalesces the week in news from the world of Stephen King.
