Orbiting around the fictional Maine town created by Stephen King, featured prominently in the author’s canon, including The Dead Zone, Cujo and, most recently, Revival, Castle Rock, a Hulu horror anthology series, will be “an original tale that combines mythological scale and intimate character storytelling,” traits that have become synonymous with the Master of Horror.
Yesterday, Entertainment Weekly posted a trio of never before seen photos from the set for your viewing pleasure and accompanying the snapshots was a full-on report, which featured co-creators Dustin Thomason and Sam Shaw discussing their intertwining Stephen King series, at length.
When prodded for their approach to the oeuvre of such a prominent literary figure, Thomason said, “our intention was always to tell an original story in the tune of Stephen King.” The longtime television executive then pointed out that the fictional town, which connects several of the author’s works, offered the most opportunity for invention.
“The germ of the idea was to think about the kinds of people who have the grit to stick it out in a place that’s been terrorized over and over again. Who stays in a place like that?”
Ironically, one of the author’s most recognizable pieces is not a tale of terror. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, adapted into the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, contributed significant themes to Castle Rock, according to Sam Shaw.
“When we returned to his library, a lot of his stories about prison and justice were really compelling to us…They’re the closest things to true-life monster stories that we tell ourselves as a culture. How do we assign blame? How do we reckon with the idea of evil and whether we believe in it?”
IT actor Bill Skarsgard echoed a similar sentiment to that of Shaw, revealing that he’ll be portraying a character who’s imprisoned.
“He’s a very traumatized creature…He’s very feral. He’s not normal. Everything is off and wounded in some way…A lot of what he’s been through has shaped who he is, and…I can’t say who he is without revealing what he’s been through.”
Arguably the harshest critic of projects inspired by his oeuvre, King has reportedly already reached out to series producer J.J. Abrams to share his kind words, with Shaw saying:
“It was a very, very cool moment, when J.J. forwarded us the email. You want to be sure that when Stephen King watches your Stephen King show, he’s happy.”
The first three episodes of Castle Rock will be available on Wednesday, July 25th. The only question now, is, will you be tuning in?