You might not recognize the name, but Mike Flanagan is perhaps the best horror director working today. Between Oculus, Hush, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Doctor Sleep and the terrific Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House, he’s already carved out a nice career in the genre and is currently putting the finishing touches on the Hill House sequel, The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Doctor Sleep might’ve underperformed at the box office, but that hasn’t discouraged the director and he’s now planning to adapt another Stephen King novel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Flanagan and Doctor Sleep producer Trevor Macy are tackling King’s 2014 book Revival for Warner Bros. No word on whether Flanagan will get behind the camera as well, but he’ll at least have major input in the production as a producer.
Revival follows a drug addict who reconnects with a former mentor, a minister, who left the church after a tragedy. The minister becomes a faith healer who slowly becomes obsessed with electrical experiments. And this being a King book, you can probably guess that things don’t go well after that.
Doctor Sleep was one of the most underrated movies of 2019. The confusing title (general audiences were unaware that it was a sequel to The Shining) mixed with its length (2.5 hours) didn’t do the film any favors financially. And while Flanagan had plans for a sequel, they were unfortunately nixed.
Of course, the filmmaker also directed another King adaptation, Gerald’s Game, for Netflix, so he’s well-versed in the author’s material. Warner Bros. must have confidence in Revival’s potential, too, if they’re thinking of a theatrical release. Other than It, which was a reboot and a known property, King’s work hasn’t been too successful in theaters lately. Then again, based on the current environment, the movie might eventually be pushed to streaming anyway.
If you haven’t already seen it, though, be sure to check out Doctor Sleep. If you’re a fan of The Shining, you’ll definitely dig it.