With a filmography that includes Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, writer/director Mike Flanagan has proven himself an adept talent when it comes to making movies based on the works of Stephen King, and it’s a talent he comes by honestly: he has a deep love for the author’s work, and he expresses his passion via adaptation. He proudly identifies as a Constant Reader, and he possesses an extensive knowledge about both King’s books and the movies and TV shows made from them. Because of this, 2025 is a pretty amazing year for Flanagan, as not only is his latest film, The Life Of Chuck, arriving in theaters, but he is in “breathless anticipation” for all of the other King projects that are on the way as well.
In last Thursday’s edition of The King Beat, I promised something special for this week’s column, and here I am delivering it with a lead story from my recent interview with Mike Flanagan. With The Life Of Chuck playing in limited release starting this Friday, June 6, this is set to be a standout week in Stephen King history, so let’s dig in!
Mike Flanagan Is Thrilled With The Stephen King Renaissance Of 2025, And He Is Just As Curious As Any King Fan About The Long Walk
It’s rare for a year to go by without the release of at least one new film or television adaptation of a Stephen King story, but what’s happening in 2025 is downright unprecedented. Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey delighted audiences with its gory madness when it debuted on the big screen back in February, and the soulful The Life Of Chuck is now just hours away from public screenings, but there are still a total of four more theatrical movies and shows set to arrive between this week and the end of December – and Mike Flanagan is stoked for all of them.
Flanagan has what could be called a vested interested in the success of Stephen King adaptations given that he is actively developing shows based on Carrie and The Dark Tower series, but he seemed to have nothing but genuine fascination about everything that is coming to theaters and TV/streaming services in the coming months when I talked to him during the Los Angeles press day for The Life Of Chuck last Friday (which saw the writer/director paired for interviews with star Tom Hiddleston). I asked for his outlook on all of the upcoming King movies and TV in 2025, and while he is enthusiastic for everything, there is one particular title that has garnered extra interest. Said Flanagan,
Oh, I mean, I'm completely tapped in as a fan. I'm in breathless anticipation of all of them, but I've been that way since I was since I was a kid. I'm particularly interested in seeing how the hell they pull off The Long Walk because how the hell are you gonna do that? But I mean, our pal Mark Hamill is in it, so I'm very excited. I would've been regardless.
“How the hell are you gonna do that?” is a question that every Stephen King fan has been asking about The Long Walk adaptation, and we are now just months away from finally getting an answer. The movie is directed by Francis Lawrence and is based on a screenplay by JT Moller – who has promised that the movie doesn’t pull any punches or shy away from the brutality of the book. That’s a key promise because the source material is as hardcore as anything that King has ever had published (which is obviously saying a lot given the man’s legacy in the horror genre).
As acknowledged by Flanagan, The Life Of Chuck and The Long Walk share a bond in that both movies include Mark Hamill in their supporting casts… but his characters and the tones of the two films truly could not be more different. In the former, Hamill plays Albie Krantz: the gruff but lovable grandfather of the titular Chuck who inspires in him a love of mathematics. In the latter, Hamill plays The Major: the orchestrator of the titular competition, which sees a collection of teenage boys participate in what is essentially a death march with a prize offered to the last kid standing.
The Long Walk will be the Stephen King adaptation that follows The Life Of Chuck on the 2025 movie release calendar, as Lionsgate will be putting the film in cinemas on September 12, but after that comes a fall season chock full of goodies. Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is poised to arrive as a late-in-the-year blockbuster (scheduled for November 7), and the small screen will see the premiers of IT: Welcome To Derry on HBO/HBO Max and The Institute on MGM+ (now pinned for July 13).
That’s a lot of Stephen King – and it comes alongside the release of King’s new novel Never Flinch and the author’s take on Hansel & Gretel (set to be published this fall), but there is an extreme diversity in all of the material that should prevent any feelings of saturation. It’s actually astounding just how little overlap exists in the tones, characters, and stories of everything we’re seeing in film, television and literature, and it speaks to the depth and scope of King’s talent.
Mike Flanagan has been a key contributor to the on-going Stephen King renaissance that has been playing out in Hollywood since 2017 (most memorable as the year that saw the arrival of both Gerald’s Game and IT: Chapter One), but he has also been able to distance himself from it all and view it as a fan. He has been as happy as anyone to see the author’s stories getting recognition, saying,
I think every couple of years I hear about the Stephen King renaissance that we're in, which I think just speaks to the incredible volume of his work and to the constant appetite to translate it from the page to the screen, and as a Constant Reader, I'm thrilled, absolutely thrilled, to live in Stephen King's world.
With an outstanding ensemble cast including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, and the aforementioned Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill, The Life Of Chuck arrives in limited release on Friday before expanding on June 13 – but there are no pauses in Mike Flanagan’s contributions to the Hollywood legacy of Stephen King. He remains committed to making a wholly faithful adaptation of The Dark Tower (a massive undertaking that is going to spend multiple years in development), and he is currently hard at work making the new Carrie series for Prime Video (which just filled out its cast this week to include Samantha Sloyan and Amber Midthunder).
The Life Of Chuck Has Launched A Special Gifting Program That Will Allow Fans To Spread The Love Of The Film With Friends And Family
I like to refer to Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption as the antidote to cynicism – and Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck is a film that very much matches it in that general vibe. While the beloved prison movie starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman is about finding hope in what seems to be a hopeless world, the 2025 movie is a deep investigation of humanity’s extreme complexity and emphasizes joy in an all-too-fleeting existence. In dark times, the Stephen King adaptation has a lovely message that needs to be shared, and Neon has partnered with Fandango and AMC Theatres in a special way to facilitate.
Late last week, it was announced that the distributor behind The Life Of Chuck has worked with two of the biggest companies in exhibition to create what has been dubbed a “gifting initiative.” It’s really simple too. Per a press release:
Customers who purchase tickets for The Life of Chuck directly from Fandango and AMC will receive a direct link after their showtime to gift the film to their friends and family, inviting them to experience the joy of the film.
The Life Of Chuck premiered last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it not only earned widespread critical acclaim, but it won the competition’s coveted People's Choice Award. It’s a breathtaking experience, and following Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, it’s Mike Flanagan’s third contribution to the list of the greatest Stephen King movies of all time. If it’s not playing at a theater near you this weekend, be sure to do yourself a favor and look for it at your local cinema when it ups its theater count.
That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat, but if you’ve taken away anything from what I’ve written here, I hope it’s that there are always new developments and things happening in the world of Stephen King – and I’ll be back here on CinemaBlend next Thursday with a new feature to chronicle the biggest headlines from the coming seven days. In the meantime, you can explore the expansive history of King on screen via my series Adapting Stephen King.
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