One of the most unexpected bits of news this month was the announcement that “Gerald’s Game” and “Doctor Sleep” filmmaker Mike Flanagan was working on a new film adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “The Mist”.
The story follows a group of people trapped in a local grocery store after their town becomes enshrouded in a strange mist in which monsters lurk and kill anyone who steps outside. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot within their group begins to play on their fears.
The news wasn’t particularly well-received. The well-liked story was previously adapted into a film in 2007 by filmmaker Frank Darabont, a movie that was famously quite a loyal adaptation of the book, right up until the last five minutes when it took a very dark and different turn with a divisive ending.
A poorly received 2017 Spike TV series adaptation was also made, which ran for a single season. Neither adaptation was a hit, and so many were asking the obvious question – why is he bothering with this?
Flanagan has now taken to his Bluesky account to defend his decision, saying he has zero intention of remaking Darabont’s film and this will be a whole new version from the ground up:
“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. I learned a long ago never to try to predict what the fans will or won’t argue about… but yeah, this isn’t a retread. The differences start page 1.”
He adds that he’s received the same “but why” questions for many of his previous works including “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” “Fall of the House of Usher,” and even “Ouija: Origin of Evil” along with his upcoming new takes on “Carrie” and “The Exorcist”. He also says: “I’ve been lucky so far in my career to only take on projects I’m really excited about.”
Flanagan is currently at work on the new “The Exorcist” film, starring Scarlett Johansson, due out in 2027. His mini-series take on “Carrie” is due out later this year.
