Mike Flanagan WIll Direct ‘Shining’ Sequel ‘Doctor Sleep’

After last years well done Netflix feature, “Gerald’s Game”, I think it’s safe to say that director Mike Flanagan gets Stephen King and is capable of adapting his work to the big screen.  So it’s no surprise that the director has been tapped for another Stephen King adaptation; however, it may surprise some to learn that it’ll be a big one like “Doctor Sleep.”

According to Deadline Warner Bros has tapped Mike Flanagan to spearhead the big screen adaptation of “Doctor Sleep.”  If you’re not familiar with the book, “Doctor Sleep” is Stephen King’s sequel to his one of his most seminal works “The Shining.” The book follows the life of Danny Torrance, the young boy with a special gift in “The Shining”, but as an adult dealing with issues that once plagued his father.  Here’s how Deadline described the plot of the novel:

The novel begins as Torrance carries the trauma of the Overlook Hotel into adulthood. He’s become a reflection of his murderous father, with lingering rage and a drinking problem that dulls his pain as well as his “shining” powers. Those powers return when he embraces sobriety and uses his gift to help the dying at a hospice. He establishes a psychic connection with a young girl who shares his extreme abilities, and who is being targeted by a scary group with the similar abilities. They’ve found that their powers grow if they inhale the “steam” that comes off others with the power to shine, when they are suffering painful deaths.

Flanagan will also handle rewrite duties on the script which was previously written by Akiva Goldsman. Now let the casting speculation begin: who should play a grown up Danny?  Maybe we can get the original actor who played Danny in the Kubrick film.  He would actually be about the same age as the Danny in “Doctor Sleep.”