Despite being quite different in places to the Stephen King novel on which is was based, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is still rightly considered one of the greatest movie’s ever made. It has also since been dissected and studied over and over again, something which helps to make it easy to watch and enjoy multiple times.
Rather than risk the backlash which would come from a remake, Warner Bros. recently decided to move ahead on a prequel called Overlook Hotel. Former showrunner on The Walking Dead Glenn Mazzar recently turned in the script, while Mythology’s James Vanderbilt, Brad Fischer and Laeta Kalogridis are producing.
Never Let Me Go helmer Mark Romanek is now in talks to direct the movie, and it sounds as if he’s a lock to take on the project. The prequel which will be based on King’s original prologue to the book version of The Shining.
That was cut from the novel prior to its publication in the 1970s, and this movie will tell the origin story of the Overlook Hotel through the eyes of its first owner, Bob T. Watson at the turn of the 20th Century.
It should be fascinating to see how this movie connects to both the book and movie versions of The Shining, while learning the sinister story behind the isolated location which drove Jack Torrance out of his mind promises to be very interesting. The studio are also looking to move ahead with an adaptation of Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining, Dr. Sleep. That follows Jack’s son, and was originally published last year.
Romanek is attached to direct Boston Strangler starring Casey Affleck, so there’s no word on when Overlook Hotel will be released or when production will begin. How do you feel about a prequel to The Shining?
