Mike Flanagan is no stranger to horror with hits like The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mass under his belt. He’s also no stranger to Stephen King’s works and has adapted multiple classics like Doctor Sleep, The Life of Chuck, and Gerald’s Game for both big and small screens. Now, the hit film and series maker will be collaborating with the famed horror author once again, this time to adapt the iconic story Carrie into a TV series. Prime Video has officially confirmed the series green light.
Flanagan opened a writers’ room in late fall as the series quickly began coming together, and the eight-episode project has been casting quietly, with relative newcomer Summer H. Howell (Hunter Hunter) in negotiations for the title character, Carrie White, and Siena Agudong (Resident Evil) set to play her nemesis, Sue Snell.
Carrie will be a reimagining of the novel, which tells the horrific story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who is quite reserved and different than other girls, as she’s spent most of her life living in seclusion with her super religious, domineering mother. When her father suddenly dies, Carrie finds herself contending with the challenges of attending high school, including a cruel bullying scandal that incites the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.
Vernon Sanders, head of television at Amazon MGM Studios, said:
“Carrie is an iconic story that has withstood the test of time with continued cultural relevance. With Mike Flanagan at the helm and the accomplished team assembled, including executive producer Trevor Macy, this provocative series is sure to captivate our global customers.”
The story is one of many MGM movie titles that Prime Video has been exploiting for TV series adaptations following Amazon’s acquisition of MGM. The list includes Legally Blonde, Tomb Raider, Poltergeist, and Barber Shop.
The novel Carrie was published in 1974 and is responsible for putting a young Stephen King on the map as a horror author. It also bolstered his worth as an author whose genre storytelling was most translatable to the big screen. Brian De Palma was the first director to adapt King’s coming-of-age story resulting in blood-soaked consequences. In the first movie (1976), Sissy Spacek played the titular character, with John Travolta, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley, and William Katt also starring.
After that came a series of several follow-ups, including the Rage: Carrie 2, a 2002 telepic, and a remake in 2013 that saw Chloë Grace Moretz star as Carrie alongside Julianne Moore as her mother. The cast also features Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Gabriella Wilde, Ansel Elgort, and Alex Russell.
Prime Video’s confirmation of a Carrie series is the second recent deal in which one of King’s treasures has been given a longer storytelling road. A24 has Paul Greengrass, of the Jason Bourne franchise, and JH Wyman, of Fringe, adapting King’s Fairy Tale into a series, and now Flanagan will write and executive produce Carrie and serve as showrunner. He will also direct select episodes.
There’s no word yet on when the series might premiere but stay tuned. You know we here at Show Snob will keep you updated!