Mike Flanagan’s Netflix Horror Shows Hint At A Twist For His Upcoming Stephen King Movie

Summary The Life of Chuck could adapt multiple Stephen King stories at once, as Flanagan did on his Netflix shows.

Flanagan may even establish a Stephen King cinematic universe in his new film, referencing his past adaptations.

Despite some possible restrictions, The Life of Chuck has the potential to include nods to King's vast literary universe.

A common storytelling trick Mike Flanagan used on his Netflix shows could return for his new Stephen King movie, The Life of Chuck. Quite possibly the horror genre's most prolific filmmaker at the moment, a new Mike Flanagan movie or TV show is always a special event. From his deeply personal horror masterpiece Midnight Mass to his chilling slasher movie Hush, Flanagan knows how to ground his horror with genuine emotion. The director is also a noted fan of the works of Stephen King.

Flanagan has helmed two critically acclaimed adaptations of King's novels with the "unfilmable" Gerald's Game, followed by The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep. Flanagan managed to pull off a near-impossible feat with the latter by merging King's book with Stanley Kubrick's classic movie, which the author himself famously hated. Even Flanagan's Midnight Mass took clear inspiration from Salem's Lot. Flanagan is back in the Stephen King business for his upcoming movie The Life of Chuck, which is a short story taken from 2020's If It Bleeds.

Related Every Upcoming Stephen King Movie There are many more upcoming Stephen King movie adaptations that are currently in development, some of which are expected for a 2024 or 2025 release.

The Life Of Chuck Could Follow Mike Flanagan's Netflix Horror Shows By Adapting Multiple Stephen King Books

Flanagan's Netflix adaptations often combined multiple stories from the same author

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One thing The Life of Chuck might try is adapting several of King's other stories too, as Flanagan did with Netflix's The Midnight Club or The Fall of the House of Usher.

The Life of Chuck has an odd structure, covering the life of the title character in reverse across three key moments from his life. Tonally, Flanagan has compared his adaptation to more uplifting Stephen King tales like The Shawshank Redemption, but the film is sure to have some scares packed into it. One thing The Life of Chuck might try is adapting several of King's other stories too, as Flanagan did with Netflix's The Midnight Club or The Fall of the House of Usher.

The latter was essentially an anthology series that adapted some of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous stories, including "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Black Cat" and "The Masque of the Red Death." Flanagan's The Midnight Club largely pulled from the novel of the same name, but also used material from author Christopher Pike's other tales; even The Haunting of Hill House and Bly Manor pulled inspiration from their respective author's other books.

Every Mike Flanagan Netflix Series Episodes Directed Rotten Tomatoes Score The Haunting of Hill House (2018) 10 (of 10) 93% The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) 1 (of 9) 87% Midnight Mass (2021) 7 (of 7) 87% The Midnight Club (2022) 2 (of 10) 86% The Fall of the House of Usher (2023) 4 (of 8) 90%

Knowing how big of a Stephen King fanboy Flanagan is and how surrealistic The Life of Chuck gets, it wouldn't be hard for him to slip in references to the author's other works. Flanagan is working on an adaptation of The Dark Tower, so nods to that sprawling fantasy saga would be an obvious choice to reference, like a Randall Flagg easter egg. Given that nearly all his Netflix series have widened the net beyond the stories being adapted, The Life of Chuck feels like a golden opportunity to do the same thing with King's vast literary universe.

The Life Of Chuck Could Establish A Stephen King Cinematic Universe For Mike Flanagan's Movies

A King/Flanagan shared universe is a reality worth living in

On the same note, The Life of Chuck could also include nods to the director's previous King adaptations like Doctor Sleep and Gerald's Game. If Flanagan does get to helm his dream project The Dark Tower, this would mark his fourth Stephen King adaptation. Considering the meta-qualities of that fantasy opus, it would make sense for Flanagan to tie his past adaptations into it. The Life of Chuck is a good place to start, nodding to the director's previous work while teasing his future in King land.

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Of course, the rights to King's various books are spread across different studios and producers, so even with the author's blessing, there could be tight restrictions on what The Life of Chuck could reference. That said, the TV series Castle Rock brought together characters and locations from many different works by the writer, including The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption, proving this kind of King Potpurri is possible.

The Life of Chuck currently has no release date set.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes