A new adaptation of ‘Firestarter’ and more ‘Doctor Sleep’ news ensures that audiences will get (re-)acquainted with some formidable female characters.
The King of Horror continues to dominate Hollywood. Hearing multiple Stephen King-related announcements in a single week is not a rarity these days. However, whether it’s news about films and series being fast-tracked through the studio system or key updates about ongoing projects, this trend of onscreen King translations deserves love. His works are a goldmine of fascinating allegories that tap into our fears in order to empower us, with both heroes and villains each having their moment in the spotlight.
Variety shared the news that Rebecca Ferguson has joined Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep, a movie based on the sequel to King’s book “The Shining.” Director Mike Flanagan later confirmed via Twitter that Ferguson will play the film’s main villain, Rose the Hat — a semi-immortal leader of a dangerous killer cult.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) June 28, 2018
Doctor Sleep centers on a grown-up Danny Torrance as he reacquaints himself with the “shining” powers that plagued his youth; that is, his telepathy and clairvoyance. As Danny learns to embrace these abilities as gifts, he unexpectedly connects with Abra Stone, a young girl who can also “shine.” However, she is in danger of having her psychic essence absorbed by a group of quasi-demonic murderers led by Rose the Hat, and Danny must protect Abra at all costs.
Best known for her roles in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and The Greatest Showman, Ferguson happens to be impeccable at portraying ethereal, distanced ice queens, and her role as Doctor Sleep’s antagonist truly feels heaven-sent. With her vicious contempt for humankind as well as her status as a cold-blooded hunter and killer of children, Rose is a character unlike any other that Ferguson has portrayed in the past.
Meanwhile, Variety has also confirmed that yet another King novel will be made into a film. A new version of Firestarter is currently in the works, with Fatih Akin (In the Fade) slated to direct from a screenplay by Scott Teems (That Evening Sun).
In Firestarter, superpowered father-daughter duo Andy and Charlie McGee are on the run from a government organization known as The Shop. While in college, Andy had participated in a Shop-run drug experiment that left him and his future wife, Victoria, imbued with limited telepathic abilities. Despite the fact that Andy himself can never overuse his own powers without suffering dire physical and mental ramifications, he and Victoria have a daughter who develops an ability to control fire. Now, the Shop are on the hunt for Charlie, looking to weaponize the child’s pyrokinesis.
Back in 1984, King’s “Firestarter” was made into a film starring young Drew Barrymore, and it was horrendously received by both critics and the author himself. According to King, “Firestarter is one of the worst [adaptations] of the bunch, even though in terms of story it’s very close to the original. But it’s flavorless; it’s like cafeteria mashed potatoes.” Still, a sequel in the form of a miniseries titled Firestarter: Rekindled was made by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2002.
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