Ah yes, the Stephen King adaptation. There are few things with so much potential to be brilliant…or awful. For every “The Shining” and “The Shawshank Redemption” success, there’s a “Firestarter” or “The Langoliers.” One director who has broken that trend has been Mike Flanagan. In between doing series like “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Midnight Mass,” he’s delivered very strong film adaptations of King’s “Gerald’s Game” and “Doctor Sleep.”
Well, Flanagan is gonna take on “The Life of Chuck,” and has made some pretty strong casting choices.
The titular Chuck has his story told in reverse, starting with his death at the age of 39 from a brain tumor. It ends with his childhood in a house that’s haunted. Well, supposedly haunted. Given it’s a Stephen King story, there’s probably something going on there that isn’t entirely ya know… normal. If you’re not familiar with the title though it’s probably because it’s a short story contained within the collection, “If It Bleeds.”
Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleston were announced earlier this year. With Hiddleston in the role of Chuck, he’ll now be joined by fellow Marvel Studios co-star Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who,” “Jumanji: The Next Level”). She also previously worked with Flanagan on his 2013 horror movie, “Oculus.”
Additionally, joining the cast is Chiwetel Ejiofor, also with a Marvel Studios pedigree as Karl Mordo in “Doctor Strange.” He’s also one of the most celebrated actors in stage, television, and film over the last 10 years. Ejiofor netted himself an Academy Award nomination for his performance in “12 Years a Slave” and recently starred in the short lived HBO series, “The Man Who Fell to Earth.” He also drew acclaim for the BBC miniseries, “Dancing on the Edge.”
Lastly, we have Jacob Tremblay, who worked briefly with Flanagan on “Doctor Sleep” but more recently starred in “Good Boys” and was the voice of the titular character in Disney Pixar’s “Luca” and the voice of flounder in “The Little Mermaid (2023).” He also appears in the recent reboot of “The Toxic Avenger.”
Just the presence of Hiddleston and Hamill made for a strong cast between the two of them, but the expanded line-up is pretty fantastic. Flanagan knows his way around a King story as well, so there’s legitimate reason to be hyped for this upcoming film. Considering the SAG-AFTRA strike is still ongoing, it may be a while before we see this adaptation come to life.
