Everything We Know about The Shining Sequel Doctor Sleep So Far
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The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan is directing a film adaptation of Stephen King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep, a sequel to King’s iconic 1977 novel The Shining. Here’s everything we know so far about the forthcoming horror adaptation.
Plot
Doctor Sleep follows a middle-aged Danny Torrance, now settled in a New Hampshire town and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Long-suppressed by his drinking, Danny’s psychic powers, known as “the shining,” resurface due to his newfound sobriety. Hoping to escape the legacy of the horrifying incident at the Overlook Hotel, Danny chooses to use his powers for good. He works at a hospice home, where his ability to offer final comfort to the dying earns him the nickname “Doctor Sleep.”
Danny’s quiet life is interrupted when his niece, 12-year-old Abra Stone, also develops the ability to “shine.” Abra’s powers make her a target of the True Knot, a murderous cult of quasi-immortal paranormals living off the “steam” that children with “the shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death, and Danny must fight for young Abra’s survival while dealing with his own reignited demons.
Cast & Crew
Horror veteran Flanagan, whose most recent film credit is Netflix’s 2017 Stephen King adaptation Gerald’s Game, is directing Doctor Sleep for Warner Bros, the studio that turned King’s horror classic It into a record-breaking box-office hit that same year. Flanagan rewrote a script originally adapted by Akiva Goldsman, who also co-wrote the poorly received 2017 King adaptation The Dark Tower.
In June, it was reported that Doctor Sleep had found its grown-up Danny Torrance in Ewan McGregor. The character was originally played by then-six-year-old Danny Lloyd in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining.
On Aug. 1, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. had set Supergirl actor Carl Lumbly as Dick Halloran, the former cook from the Overlook Hotel who also has “the shining.” The character, who explains the power of “the shining” to young Danny, was originally played by Scatman Crothers. Dick famously died in the Kubrick film adaptation, despite surviving King’s novel, and it’s safe to assume that he is still alive in Doctor Sleep. The studio also set actress Alex Essoe as Wendy Torrance, Danny’s mother, played in the original by Shelley Duvall.
The next day, it was reported that Rebecca Ferguson had joined the cast, playing antagonist Rose the Hat, the leader of the True Knot, the aforementioned cult of quasi-immortalists, who is lovingly referred to in the original novel as “the Queen Bitch of Castle Hell.” Those reports also included the news that Westworld star Zahn McClarnon was in talks to play Crow Daddy, Rose the Hat’s right-hand man in the film.
Later that month, young actress Kyleigh Curran was cast as Abra Stone, Danny Torrance’s niece, a girl with the gift of “the shining,” per Deadline. In the novel, Abra manifests psychic powers when she seemingly predicts the 9/11 attacks and becomes a target of the True Knot.