Matthew Lillard says Mike Flanagan’s Carrie is a brilliant, pure adaptation of Stephen King’s novel
Carrie, the subject of author Stephen King’s first published novel and one of the greatest female icons in the horror genre, is coming back – and this time Mike Flanagan is the one taking her to prom. It was announced last October that Flanagan was working with King to turn the story of Carrie into an eight episode series that will be released through Amazon’s Prime Video service. Flanagan is executive producing the series with Trevor Macy. Filming began in June and wrapped in October, and during an interview with GamesRadar+, cast member Matthew Lillard has described the show as a brilliant, pure adaptation of the King novel.
The series stars Summer H. Howell of Curse of Chucky and Cult of Chucky as Carrie, Siena Agudong (The 4:30 Movie) as Sue Snell, Samantha Sloyan (The Fall of the House of Usher) as Carrie’s mom, Margaret White; Amber Midthunder (Prey) as Miss Desjardin, Alison Thornton (Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce) as Chris Hargensen, Matthew Lillard (Scream) as Principal Grayle, Thalia Dudek (The Running Man) as Emaline, Josie Totah (The Buccaneers) as Tina, Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) as Billy, and Joel Oulette (Sullivan’s Crossing) as Tommy.
Returning Flanagan collaborators Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, Katee Sackhoff, Rahul Kohli, Crystal Balint, and Danielle Klaudt are also in the mix, along with Heather Graham (Suitable Flesh), Tim Bagley (The Perfect Couple), Tahmoh Penikett (The Madness), Mapuana Makia (Doogie Kamealoha M.D.), newcomer Rowan Danielle, Naika Toussaint (Washington Black), Delainey Hayles (Interview with the Vampire), and Cassandra Naud (Influencer). Details on their characters have not been revealed.
Published in 1974, King’s novel Carrie served as the inspiration for the classic 1976 film directed by Brian De Palma. The concept then sat dormant for a couple of decades, until the sequel The Rage: Carrie 2 came along in 1999. That was quickly followed by a made-for-TV Carrie remake in 2002, and then Carrie got a big screen remake in 2013. The character was played by Sissy Spacek in ’76, Angela Bettis in ’02, and Chloe Grace Moretz in ’13. Back in 2019, it was rumored that a limited series adaptation was in development at FX, but that project (if it existed) didn’t go anywhere.
King’s novel has the following description: Unpopular at school and subjected to her mother’s religious fanaticism at home, Carrie White does not have it easy. But while she may be picked on by her classmates, she has a gift she’s kept secret since she was a little girl: she can move things with her mind. Doors lock. Candles fall. Her ability has been both a power and a problem. And when she finds herself the recipient of a sudden act of kindness, Carrie feels like she’s finally been given a chance to be normal. She hopes that the nightmare of her classmates’ vicious taunts is over . . . but an unexpected and cruel prank turns her gift into a weapon of horror so destructive that the town may never recover. Here’s the logline for Flanagan’s series: A bold and timely reimagining of the story of misfit high-schooler Carrie White, who has spent her life in seclusion with her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden and untimely death, Carrie finds herself contending with the alien landscape of public High School, a bullying scandal that shatters her community, and the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.
Lillard told GamesRadar+, “Carrie‘s brilliant. Mike Flanagan – who I worked with on Life of Chuck – he is just the single greatest force of nature in this industry. We rehearsed for three weeks. He had plotted out every shot in the entire film. He had it down to the minute in terms of he amount of time it would take to shoot. He developed an app so you could see where they were in shooting. I mean, he’s so prolific and profound and such a great storyteller. So that’s the first thing. The second thing is the cast is incredible. It’s three different sort of sections. It’s the story Carrie written by Stephen King. It’s really a pure adaptation of the book [more] than the original movie was. The De Palma film is really about sort of one aspect, but there’s a lot that happens in the book that’s been introduced to the show. And then there’s three different tiers – the teachers and the parents, and the students. The teachers and the parents are kind of the varsity level of actors, you know, old. It’s just a way of calling the old actors. And then the kids…the kids are freaking brilliant. They’re brilliant actors. I would watch them work, and I was blown away at their ability to be honest and truthful. And we saw the first three episodes cut before we even left Vancouver, Mike had already finished and picture-locked the first three episodes, which was remarkable. But the show’s great. It’s really fantastic. The only thing that sucks is you have to wait a year to see it, because it’s so good.“
What do you think of what Matthew Lillard had to say about Mike Flanagan’s Carrie? Are you looking forward to watching this show on Prime Video in 2026? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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