June 14, 2018
Actor Ewan McGregor will star as Danny Torrance in an adaptation of the
Stephen King novel "Doctor Sleep", the sequel to horror classic "The Shining".
According to sources, King has given his blessings to McGregor's casting,
reports variety.com.
Mike Flanagan, who helmed Netflix's adaptation of
the King novella "Gerald's Game", is directing it. Flanagan's producing partner,
Trevor Macy, will produce it along with Vertigo Entertainment's Jon Berg.
Warner Bros had been developing this film, as well as "The Shining" prequel
"Overlook Hotel" for years, but the studio struggled to secure a budget for
either film.
Following the success of "It", every studio with any sort of
King IP under its roof has fast-tracked each property into pre-production.
"Doctor Sleep" begins as Torrance carries the trauma of the Overlook Hotel
into adulthood. He has 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 group with similar abilities. They have 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.
Stanley Kubrick directed the original
adaptation of "The Shining", starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Danny
Lloyd played a young Danny Torrance. At the time, the film was considered a box
office disappointment, earning $44 million on a $19 million budget.
Now,
however, it is thought to be one of the great horror classics and has a built-in
fan base ready for a sequel.