Netflix has an impressive track record with Stephen King adaptations thus far. In 2017, the streaming service premiered Mike Flanagan's Gerald's Game (one of the best King movies of all time), and that was followed up by Vincenzo Natali's In The Tall Grass in 2019. Now that legacy is hopefully set to expand further with the release of John Lee Hancock's Mr. Harrigan's Phone – which just launched its debut trailer online.
Written and directed by Hancock, Mr. Harrigan's Phone is based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, which was published in the 2020 collection If It Bleeds (it's the first story from that book to get an adaptation). The first stills from the movie arrived at the end of August – the day after the release date was announced – and now this preview provides our first look at footage from the movie.
Mr. Harrigan's Phone centers on Craig (Jaeden Martell), a teenager living in a small Maine town who gets a part time job assisting a rich, elderly neighbor named Mr. Harrigan (Donald Sutherland). They end up forming a tight bond incredibly quickly, and while it's initially thought by Craig that their relationship is over when Harrigan's unexpectedly dies, their connection continues through an iPhone that the protagonist purchases as a gift for his friend and leaves in the man's coffin during the funeral.
The Netflix movie is expected to be a mix of supernatural horror story and coming-of-age drama, both of which are equally important in the novella.
In addition to Jaeden Martell and Donald Sutherland – both of whom are veterans starring in Stephen King adaptations, having respectively starred in IT and the 2004's Salem's Lot miniseries – Mr. Harrigan's Phone also stars Kirby Howell-Baptiste (as Craig's teacher, Ms. Hart) and Joe Tippett (as Craig's father).
This will be the second Stephen King movie released in 2022, following a few months after Keith Thomas' Firestarter arrived in theaters and on Peacock this past May (Gary Dauberman's Salem's Lot was supposed to premiere this fall, but it now isn't expected to come out until at least 2023). The film has already gotten a nice dose of positive buzz from King himself, as the author got to see an early cut of the feature and Tweeted in early August that the movie is "nothing short of brilliant."
Mr. Harrigan's Phone will be available to stream starting October 5 – one of many exciting upcoming Netflix movies that are in store for the final months of 2022. Our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide is regularly updated with the latest news about developing projects, and my weekly Adapting Stephen King column posts every Wednesday and dives into the dozens of films, miniseries and shows that have debuted since the 1970s.
