It still gives me immense joy that Stephen King is still actively writing. As a constant reader who got into his books at way too young of an age, there have been some real close calls. Besides his near fatal accident in 1999, King has toyed with retiring off and on over the years. That never seems to last, and in the last several years, he has been more prolific than ever. King has since branched out into different genres, but he still manages to sneak in Easter eggs for fans.
While there are numerous references and tie ins throughout his works, King doesn’t do that many direct sequels. Usually, he prefers to follow up on characters or events that happen in one story by revisiting it elsewhere. For example, “It” never had an official sequel, but there have been cameos and events that hint at what happened after in books like “Dreamcatcher” or “11/22/63.” This type of connection happens throughout his works and culminated in a big way through his “Dark Tower” series. Even though that series ended almost two decades ago, its clear that its something that King likes doing.
However, it looks like we will be getting another direct sequel soon in the form of a novella. During an interview with Bloody Disgusting’s The Losers Club podcast, King revealed that he is working on a story that will be a follow up to one of his earlier classics. On the podcast, King goes into detail about a story tentatively titled “Rattlesnakes.” He goes on to say at around 25 minutes into the podcast:
“It involves, in one part, twins who are only four years old falling into a rattlesnake pit,” King tells the podcast (around 25 minutes in). “And the snakes, get them…It’s a terrible scene…This novella that I’ve just written, ‘Rattlesnakes’ is actually a sequel to ‘Cujo.'”
It might seem pretty surprising for King to just announce that he’s making a direct sequel in this way. Especially in the context that it has to do with what sounds like the brutal death of two 4 year children. King has never been one to shy from writing about horrific violence, and “Cujo“ is especially grueling.
What is strange to consider is that “Cujo” is getting a sequel because it is not an explicitly supernatural story. The killer St. Bernard in that story goes on a rampage because of rabies. It does not sound like “Rattlesnakes” is supernatural either and simply about killer animals. On a thematic level, that makes more sense since the brutality of nature on the innocent is a theme he’s returns to often.
Perhaps there is a generational connection to the original story, where the children of some of the original characters are involved. Or it could be connected through Castle Rock, the infamous town that many of King’s earlier stories take place in. Given the speed of King’s output, I am sure we will find out soon enough.
We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
