Mike Flanagan’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist takes things in a different direction
Nineteen years ago, writer/director Frank Darabont brought a version of the Stephen King novella The Mist to the screen (and the movie even made it onto MeTV’s House of Svengoolie last weekend). Two weeks ago, it was announced that Mike Flanagan has signed on to write and direct a new version of The Mist for Warner Bros. Pictures, and will also be producing the film through Red Room alongside Tyler Thompson and Spyglass’s Gary Barber and Chris Stone. Alexandra Magistro will also executive produce for Red Room. Many genre fans have been asking “Why?” – and now, Flanagan has taken to social media to give an answer, explaining that his take on the concept heads off into a different direction.
Synopsis
In The Mist, a small town in Maine is consumed by a thick mysterious fog from which creatures emerge to attack the townsfolk. A group of survivors hole up in a local grocery store. As often happens with King’s fiction, anarchy and societal reordering brings out the best in some, and the absolute worst in others, sparking mob mentality and empowering unhinged extremists who become as dangerous as the horrors outside. The novella was originally published in the 1980 anthology Dark Forces, then King put it in his 1985 short story collection Skeleton Crew. In addition to the 2007 film adaptation, there was a short-lived TV series adaptation in 2017.
A King Regular
Flanagan has previously been at the helm of the Stephen King adaptations Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep and is also working on series adaptations of The Dark Tower and Carrie for Amazon Studios. He was set to write and direct a film adaptation of King’s novel Revival for Warner Bros. several years ago, but that project fell apart.
The director is currently gearing up to go into production on a new Exorcist sequel that’s scheduled for a March 12, 2027 theatrical release, so it will be a little while before he’s able to really dive into the world of The Mist.
A Different Direction
Writing on BlueSky, Flanagan said, “The Mist is going to be great. If there wasn’t an excellent answer to why, I wouldn’t do it. I love Darabont’s film, and there’s zero point in remaking it. Which is why I’m going in a different direction. This isn’t a retread. The differences start page 1.
And FWIW, I got the same ‘but why’ comments for Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, House of Usher, Carrie, The Exorcist, even Ouija: Origin of Evil. Also got it for Life of Chuck. I’ve been lucky so far in my career to only take on projects I’m really excited about.“
The ending of Darabont’s movie, which saw the mist dissipating, was very different from the end of King’s novella, where everything around the characters was still enshrouded in mist as they journeyed further into the apocalypse. If Flanagan isn’t going to do the “trapped in a market” story over again, it makes me wonder if his idea might be inspired by the idea of the journey the characters were on in King’s ending… But there’s no way to know for now, because Flanagan isn’t spilling the beans.
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