Ready for an enigma? Because Stephen King fans have spent most of February dealing with a doozy. It began mid month when the news broke that Mike Flanagan – known among Constant Readers for making Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep and The Life Of Chuck – had signed a deal with Warner Bros. that will see him tackle a new adaptation of The Mist. Naturally, this caused a bit of controversy among King fans, specifically those who love writer/director Frank Darabont’s film from 2007, and that led Flanagan to explain himself this week: he says that he’s not making a traditional remake, and he is instead “going in a different direction.”
But here’s the rub: if Darabont’s movie already exists as an extremely faithful take on the source material, what can we expect from Flanagan’s approach? I’ve opted to use this week’s edition of The King Beat to address that question, as I have a collection of theories about what the filmmaker is cooking up. Along with the news that a new King short is about to have a U.S. premiere next month in Los Angeles, there’s a whole lot to discuss, so without further ado, let’s dig in!
