Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleston will Star in Mike Flanagan’s ‘The Life of Chuck’
It’s just the latest Stephen King adaptation from Mike Flanagan, who has become something of a whizz at making movies and TV shows from the writer’s work.
(Left) Mark Hamill in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi.' (Right) Tom Hiddleston in 'The Night Manager.'
In the last decade or so, Mike Flanagan has established himself as one of the preeminent adaptation specialists when it comes to the work of Stephen King, and, especially on the small screen, has established his own identity as a master of horror with shows such as ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and ‘Midnight Mass’.
He’s back in King territory for a new movie, ‘The Life of Chuck’ and has recruited Mark Hamill (who surely needs little introduction) and Marvel/Shakespeare veteran Tom Hiddleston to star.
The Life of Chuck
A story told in reverse, starting with the end of Chuck Krantz's life, and moving back in time to show how he lived that life. Read the Plot
Mike Flanagan and Stephen King
In just a couple of movies –– following some original work of his own –– Flanagan established his King credentials. There was Netflix’s ‘Gerald’s Game’, which starred Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood in the story of a married couple attempted to spice up their relationship at a remote lake house when the husband unexpectedly dies while his wife his handcuffed to the bed. And he followed that with ‘Doctor Sleep’, his adaptation of King’s ‘The Shining’ sequel.
Author Stephen King. Photo: Stephen King/Facebook.
Related Article: J.J. Abrams Will Produce and may Direct Stephen King Film 'Billy Summers'
What is ‘The Life of Chuck’?
As opposed to his more straightforward horror adaptations, ‘Chuck’ will see Flanagan tackling something a little different from King’s canon, taking on the short story first published as part of the 2020 collection ‘If It Bleeds’ (which also featured ‘Mr. Harrigan’s Phone’, adapted for Netflix by John Lee Hancock last year).
The short story is split into three sections:
The story is split into three acts offered in reverse chronological order.
- In Act 1: ‘I Contain Multitudes’, Chuck is orphaned and is brought up by his paternal grandparents, where his love of dancing develops. His grandparents always keep their house’s cupola locked, but eventually Chuck unlocks the room and sees himself dying of a brain tumor at the age of 39.
- In Act 2: ‘Buskers’, Chuck sees a drummer busking and starts dancing. A young girl joins him, dancing with Chuck as a crowd surrounds them. After dancing, Chuck suffers a bad headache and walks away dejected.
- In Act 3: ‘Thanks, Chuck’, Marty drives home and sees a billboard showing an accountant sitting at a desk, underneath it says ‘39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck’ as the world appears to be slowly crumbling. That evening as Marty visits his ex-wife Felicia, he notices Chuck’s image appearing everywhere. In a hospital, Chuck is dying surrounded by his family. Marty and Felicia see the stars disappearing, then blackness.
Hiddleston’s playing one version of Chuck, while Hamill will be a character named Albie.
According to Deadline, the film will be tonally along the lines of ‘Stand By Me’, so expect more character than scares.
Flanagan finished the script before the WGA strike took hold, so it could theoretically still be made, assuming the DGA doesn’t also go on strike.
Tom Hiddleston in 'The Essex Serpent,' premiering globally May 13, 2022 on Apple TV+.
Other Movies Based on Stephen King Novels:
- 'Carrie' (1976)
- 'The Shining' (1980)
- 'Cujo' (1983)
- 'Christine' (1983)
- 'Children of the Corn' (1984)
- 'Firestarter' (1984)
- 'Stand by Me' (1986)
- 'The Running Man' (1987)
- 'Pet Sematary' (1989)
- 'Misery' (1990)
- 'The Lawnmower Man' (1992)
- 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
- 'Dolores Claiborne' (1995)
- 'Apt Pupil' (1998)
- 'The Green Mile' (1999)
- 'Hearts in Atlantis' (2001)
- 'Dreamcatcher' (2003)
- '1408' (2007)
- 'The Mist' (2007)
- 'The Dark Tower' (2017)
- 'It' (2017)
- 'It Chapter Two' (2019)
- 'Doctor Sleep' (2019)
- 'Mr. Harrigan's Phone' (2022)
