J.J. Abrams is clearly not in the mood for wasting any time when it comes to making the most of Bad Robot’s huge first-look development deal with WarnerMedia. The company already has Justice League Dark, Duster and Constantine in various stages of development, while HBO’s Demimonde is still in the works having first been ordered straight to series in February 2018.
The prolific executive producer is also keen to continue his working relationship with Stephen King, after the legendary horror writer revealed that they’re currently brainstorming a new anthology series. Abrams and King are no strangers to each other, of course, with Bad Robot having adapted 11.22.63 as a Hulu miniseries, while Castle Rock also ran on the platform for two seasons before being canceled.
The Shining spinoff Overlook is currently set up at HBO Max and Lisey’s Story is coming to Apple TV+ as well, but the dynamic duo are still keen to collaborate once more on what would be their fifth project together. King recently dropped some hints about what it could entail, too, and an anthology series would certainly mark familiar ground for both.
“I’ve talked with JJ Abrams a lot about a possible anthology series of tiny horrors. We got really down and dirty about it and talked about things that were really, really scary. I’ve got a creative relationship with J.J. Abrams that goes back to Lost, when Entertainment Weekly put us together and we had a talk about that show. A bunch of us went out and saw a scary movie and I’ve been in touch with J.J. since then. Bad Robot has got a great organization, and they give great Christmas presents at the end of the year. I love working with them. It’s been a great relationship.”
Stephen King‘s back catalogue is still big business for Hollywood, with over two dozen movies and TV shows spread all across town, but the author’s personal friendship with the Bad Robot head honcho clearly gives the outfit a leg up on the competition, and it also helps that J.J. Abrams is hardly workshy when it comes to overseeing his company’s output.