How Mike Flanagan's Next Stephen King Adaptation Will Be Different From His Past Movies

Summary

The Life of Chuck
is not a horror story, but a unique drama exploring life in reverse chronological order.
Mike Flanagan praises the project as his favorite movie, drawing inspiration from Stephen King’s non-horror works and noting audiences should check their expectations for a scary story at the door.
Flanagan’s transition to drama should further establish his storytelling range, following his success in the horror genre.

As he gears up to return to the world of the iconic horror author, Mike Flanagan explains how The Life of Chuck will be different from his prior Stephen King adaptations. Based on King’s novella of the same name from the If It Bleeds collection, the story is a unique drama exploring the life of the titular character in reverse chronological order. Tom Hiddleston leads the ensemble Life of Chuck cast in the titular role, alongside frequent Flanagan collaborators Kate Siegel, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Rahul Kohli, Heather Langenkamp and many others.

During his Echoes From Hill House: A Haunting Panel at FanExpo Canada, Screen Rant‘s Joe Deckelmeier spoke with Flanagan about the upcoming Life of Chuck movie. In asking about what viewers can expect from the project, the writer/director explained how it would be different from his prior King adaptations, noting that it is “not a horror story“, but instead is akin to some of the author’s more dramatic works, while also praising it as “my favorite movie I’ve ever worked on by a mile“. See what Flanagan shared below:

Mike Flanagan: What I can tell you about The Life of Chuck is that it’s not a horror story. And that’s the biggest thing I want people to know going in. It is based on the Stephen King story, and it’s me, so it’s a very reasonable assumption that would be scary. But it’s not. It is the side of Stephen King that wrote Stand By Me and Shawshank Redemption. It is that Steve, and it’s a completely different world for me to be in. It’s my favorite movie I’ve ever worked on by a mile. The cast is extraordinary, as you said, and I am so proud of this one.

Whatever happens with it, because it is such a strange, fragile little animal. I want you guys to enjoy it, but I think [you should] just check your expectations at the door if you’re expecting scary because you’ll be very disappointed. But if you’re expecting something that is a life-affirming celebration of joy and existence and mortality, you’ll be very happy. Two weeks from today, we have to fly home to LA, and I don’t know if we’re going to unpack because we have to fly right back. I’ll still be in this [outfit] the whole time.

Flanagan’s note of wanting to pull from the likes of Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption are a promising sign for his approach to The Life of Chuck given their similar tonal sensibilities. As Flanagan notes, the novella does feature some supernatural elements, including Chuck being able to see his future death from a brain tumor in his grandparents’ home, or the subtle mentions of a dystopian world around him. That said, King still generally kept the focus of the story on Chuck building relationships with certain people in his life.

Every Stephen King Non-Horror Movie, Ranked

There have been many good and bad Stephen King horror film adaptations, and his non-horror work has also been turned into movies ranging in quality.

Much like the author, The Life of Chuck will serve as a rare genre shift for Flanagan after making a name for himself in the horror sphere, namely for the Haunting anthology and The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix. It won’t, however, mark his first time adapting King’s works after previously adapting both Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep into film form. Flanagan is also currently developing a TV adaptation of King’s The Dark Tower franchise, but while he has a first-look deal with Amazon Studios, it’s unclear who will actually distribute the show.

Flanagan also had two planned
Doctor Sleep
spinoffs in the works, though they were shelved following the movie’s underperformance at the box office, in spite of its strong reviews.

In looking to Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption for inspiration, Flanagan’s transition to the strictly dramatic for The Life of Chuck could very well establish the range he has for storytelling. Given the 1986 movie was nominated for both an Oscar and two Golden Globes, and 1994’s Shawshank Redemption landed a record seven Oscar nominations, the most for any King adaptation, and two Golden Globe nods, Flanagan’s desire to match the heights of their emotional character stories is an exciting sign he will continue his win streak.

The Life of Chuck

Based on the short story written by Stephen King, The Life of Chuck is a drama/supernatural film by writer-director Mike Flanagan. Tom Hiddleston stars as the titular Charles Krantz and traverses three phases of his life, including his time spent growing up in a haunted house.