As a longtime lover of The Shining (the novel, feature film and the TV miniseries), you’d better believe that I’m right there with those of you who’ve been seemingly waiting an eternity for a sequel on the silver screen. Fortunately, the gargantuan success of IT forced Hollywood to fast track an adaptation of Stephen King’s 2013 novel, Doctor Sleep.
Personally, I’m curious to see how the big screen version of Doctor Sleep will function as a sequel because, as you may know, King’s original Shining novel was a very different beast from the movie Stanley Kubrick made, which later prompted the scribe to pen the teleplay for the 1997 TV miniseries. If I were to hazard a guess, Mike Flanagan’s flick will be a followup to Kubrick’s effort just for the sake of continuity in the same medium.
And considering how this production won’t be handcuffed by network television Standards and Practices, a mature rating is what one would naturally expect. In fact, Flanagan himself said that it’s “very safe to assume” his contribution to the franchise will be granted the “R.”
Although Doctor Sleep is technically a sequel, it’s in no way a rehash of its predecessor as I intimated earlier. In fact, that’s something Flanagan wants the public to know before heading to cinemas:
“It’s its own story and in a very specific way. If you’ve read the book, you know exactly why it’s so different but it’s quite a tightrope that we’re walking I think,” the filmmaker noted. “I’m having a great time doing it. I’m just going to get the movie out and then turn off the internet for two weeks and see how it all goes.”
Doctor Sleep opens in theaters on January 24th, 2020.