If, upon hearing the news that a new Carrie adaptation is in the works, you thought “Why, though?”—well, you weren’t alone. Showrunner Mike Flanagan had the same thought. And so did Stephen King, from whose mind Carrie originally sprung all those decades ago.
In a new interview with Variety, Flanagan gets into his working relationship with King, who tends to be pretty hands-off with adaptations. Flanagan says, “He is very serious that the book is the book, and the movie is the movie, and he doesn’t want to influence your creative expression of that.”
Carrie, as it turns out, was proposed by Amazon to Flanagan, and he only said yes once he’d figured out an answer to that question of “Why?” He says:
But we’re doing the Carrie series right now, and that was one where the conversation started when Amazon proposed the show. I initially thought, “Why? it’s been done.” And then I found an answer to that question, and it made me very excited. But when I went to Steve, his answer was “Why?” His first response was, “Leave her alone. She’s been through enough.” But it’s that thing where the more information I could share, and sending him the bible and the plan for the show, he could see the thing we were trying to do that was new. Then he said, “Ohh, now I’m interested, just as a fan. I’m excited to see where this goes.” Once he said yes, then we were off, because if Steve had said no, I wouldn’t do it. So the relationship has evolved, but he’s always remained incredibly respectful of separating the book and the movie.
But what thing, Mr. Flanagan? What thing? The showrunner is obviously keeping his cards close to the chest; whatever this thing is, he doesn’t want us to know until the time is right. Flanagan goes on to say:
I believe that in today’s modern world, the power of what it means to be a bully, the breadth of that and the impact of bullying, have changed a lot. … I can’t really talk about what we’re doing, I can only really talk about what we’re not doing. We’re not retelling the story as it’s been told, and we’re not making a show about telekinesis. It’s in there, but that’s not what it’s about.
The main cast for Carrie was just announced, but there’s no word yet on when it will arrive on screen.
