Summary
Fans who enjoyStephen King’s terrifying work andMike Flanagan’s haunting and moving TV showsand movies likely cheered when learning Flanagan would be writing and directing anadaptation of King’s novellaThe Life of Chuck. Now fans can check outthe teaser trailer forThe Life of Chuck,which stars Tom Hiddleston as Charles “Chuck” Krantzand is being distributed by Neon.
The teaser trailer says “From the mind of Stephen King” and “the heart and soul of Mike Flanagan” and shows blinking traffic lights along withChuck, who has a suit on and is standing in the middle of his small town.
While the trailer is brief and doesn’t have any dialogue, it has one thought-provoking and memorable line:
“The universe is large and it contains multitudes, but it also contains me."
The cast ofThe Life of ChuckfeaturesChiwetel Ejiofor, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay.This is also the third Flanagan movie that Tremblay is starring in as he played the main character Cody Morgan in the 2016 thrillerBefore I Wakeand Bradley Trevor in 2019’sDoctor Sleep. Nick Offerman voices the Narrator, which is an interesting departure for the actor who is known for playing the hilarious Ron Swanson on the sitcomParks and Recreation. Other cast members include Kate Siegal and Hamish Linklater, who have appeared in several Flanagan TV shows, includingMidnight Mass, along withLauren LaVera, who playedTerrifierfinal girl Sienna Shaw.
The Life of Chuckfollows the main character Chuck’s life, but the story follows a different structure than people might expect. Act 3 is the first one and shows Chuck passing away, Act 2 shows him in living his life, and Act 1 shows him as a child. Jacob Tremblay, Cody Flanagan, and Benjamin Pajak play the young versions of Chuck in Act 1.Act 2 features Chuck dancing, which sounds much more heartwarming than some of the most well-known adaptations of King’s books, and Hiddleston shared in an interview withVarietythat he learned dancing. He said he liked swing and jazz and explained, “This dance number evolves very spontaneously. If I didn’t nail the technique, it was about expressing the joy.”
Since so many of King’s horror stories are adapted for film, includingthe upcoming single location taleAutospy Room Four,The Life of Chuckfeels like a departure. It’s also different for Flanagan, who has made several terrifying shows for Netflix includingMidnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usher,The Midnight Club, andThe Haunting of Hill House.However, the filmmaker’s fans know he does a great job with strong, well-written characters, andFlanagan’s scary stories are always filled with emotion. Flanagan is also a fan of King’s work and has adapted several of his stories for the big screen. Besidesco-writing and directingGerald’s Gameand writing and directingDoctor Sleep, Flanagan is also working onaCarrieAmazonPrime Video series.
