Shining Sequel Doctor Sleep Will Be Faithful to King’s Novel

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (via JoBlo) brings word that the upcoming Warner Bros. adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep, will remain faithful to King’s novel. Ewan McGregor (Christopher Robin, T2 Trainspotting) confirmed on the talk show that director Mike Flanagan is sticking close to the source material for the feature.

“It’s very faithful to the book, the script. If you’ve read the novel, that’s the story we’re going to tell,” McGregor said. McGregor, who will play the main character and older version of Danny Torrance, also revealed that, like the books, Danny will have psychic powers.

This makes sense, considering how true to the novel Flanagan’s previous King adaptation Gerald’s Game was. Until now, fans had wondered whether Flanagan’s movie would be a direct sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror adaptation of The Shining, and this news indicates that Doctor Sleep will likely stem from the novel versions instead. Kubrick’s film famously deviated from King’s book, much to the chagrin of the superstar novelist. As a result, in 1997 King penned his own screenplay for Mick Garris’ 3-part TV adaptation of The Shining that ignored the film and adapted the book faithfully. King’s distaste for Kubrick’s The Shining even became a critical plotpoint in the recent Steven Spielberg hit Ready Player One!

Doctor Sleep also stars Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible – Fallout), Zahn McClarnon (Westworld), Carl Lumbly (Supergirl), and Alex Essoe (Midnighters).

The film is set to be directed and written by Mike Flanagan, making it his second King adaptation after the acclaimed Gerald’s Game. Warner Bros. will release the movie on January 24, 2020. His producing partner, Trevor Macy, is set to produce along with Jon Berg for Vertigo Entertainment.

Published 36 years after The Shining, Doctor Sleep follows an adult Danny Torrance (McGregor) from the original novel. Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel, where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant shining power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.” There Dan meets Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival.

Are you glad Doctor Sleep will hew towards the books rather than the Kubrick film? Let us know in the comments below!