'Well, Yeah, But You're Stephen King' Mike Flanagan Reveals…

Summary

King gives Flanagan creativity freedom, preferring not to interfere in adaptations.
Flanagan values King's feedback while also appreciating the positive working experience.
Despite other adaptations, Flanagan is busy with upcoming projects including a Dark Tower series and The Exorcist reboot.

What is it really like working on a movie or TV show based on a Stephen King story? Mike Flanagan has a lot of experience crafting memorable adaptations of the beloved author's work, and he shared how much feedback he gets from King himself.

Besides his creepy and emotional Netflix horror TV shows such as Midnight Mass, Flanagan is known for writing and directing two King movies: Gerald's Game and The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep. The filmmaker also made The Life of Chuck, which has been a box office disappointment but has impressed fans with its moving, cheerful tone. Flanagan is currently hard at work on a Carrie series for Amazon Prime Video and the highly anticipated Dark Tower show, which he compared to "an oil tanker" because it's "so big." Since Flanagan is such a big fan of King's singular scary stories, it's exciting that he's got so much in the pipeline. He also talked about what it's like getting feedback from the popular author, and his comments are both fascinating and relatable.

'All I Can Say Is It's Happening' Stephen King Just Confirmed That He Is Writing For Mike Flanagan's Dark Tower Series

Stephen King confirmed that he would be part of Mike Flanagan’s TV adaptation of his book The Dark Tower series.

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By Catherine Armecin Martin

Mike Flanagan Shares What It's Like Getting Feedback From Stephen King On His Movie And TV Adaptations

In an interview with Forbes, Mike Flanagan said there is "an enormous amount of freedom" when he's adapting Stephen King's work. He said King believes "the book is the book and the movie is the movie, and he has no interest in influencing or interfering with the filmmaker." Flanagan said that freedom is a "double-edged sword" and added that while King doesn't tell filmmakers what to put into a movie or what to exclude, he will definitely let filmmakers know when he's not a fan of the end result.

Flanagan explained:

"I've known if he likes or doesn't like an element, and I want him to be very happy, but he's also emphatic that he's like, 'I want you to make the movie or show you want to make. I'm just the writer,' and I'll be like, 'Well, yeah, but you're Stephen King. You're not just a writer. It goes a little deeper.'"

Since King is so masterful at his craft and has been so highly regarded in the literary world for so many decades, winning praise from other beloved authors like George R.R. Martin, it would definitely be tough to receive criticism from him. It would also be intimidating to show him the completed movie or TV series. It's great to hear that, as Flanagan describes it, collaborating with King is a positive experience.

In his interview with Forbes, Flanagan also mentioned that while he's racking up a long list of King adaptations, another filmmaker has done even more. Mick Garris made the TV shows Bag of Bones, The Shining, and the 1994 The Stand miniseries along with the movies Riding the Bullet, Desperation, Sleepwalker, and Quicksilver Highway. Garris has also shared positive stories of working with King. He told SyFy.com that working on Sleepwalkers was "a great time" and when he showed a cut of the film to King and his wife, Tabitha King, it went well.

Amazon gave Carrie a series order in April 2025, and while there is no release date at this time, it's expected to arrive in 2026, according to the IMDb page. There will likely be a longer delay for Flanagan's Dark Tower series since the filmmaker is working on Carrie first and, as he pointed out, there are so many characters and storylines to include. In the meantime, fans will keep wondering what the Dark Tower will be like, along with whether the show will alter the ending.

Besides his King adaptations, Flanagan is also working on a reboot of The Exorcist for Blumhouse. He previously said it's a chance to work on "the scariest movie I've ever made," which is intriguing. Considering Flanagan's horror background and the eerie characters he's crafted, including the Bent-Neck Lady in The Haunting of Hill House, fans are in for a creepy treat.

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