Sequel to ‘The Shining’ Gets a 2020 Release Date
Did you know that The Shining has a sequel? It’s true – well, the novel does at least! After being asked for years what happened to little Danny Torrance after the original story, Stephen King penned a follow-up that was published in 2013 – Doctor Sleep. Earlier this year, it was rumoured that director Mike Flanagan was working on a big screen adaptation, to be developed by Warner Bros. Today, Bloody Disgusting have revealed that the movie is happening and has a release date – 24 January 2020.
Danny Torrance in The Shining (1980)
That Flanagan is leading this project should come as no surprise; his adaptation of Gerald’s Game was widely lauded and endeared the director to King’s fan base. Whilst promoting his project (which was released on Netflix in 2017) Flanagan mentioned that he had his heart set on giving Doctor Sleep a cinematic outing. This surprised many in the horror community; King famously did not like Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of The Shining after all. However, King does seem to have a soft-spot for Flanagan, describing Gerald’s Game as “hypnotic, horrifying and terrific” in the past. Clearly, the director has said something to assure King that he’ll do Doctor Sleep justice.
Doctor Sleep follows on from the events of The Shining. In this story, Danny has grown into an alcoholic drifter who is haunted by the memory of his father. The official synopsis reads:
Doctor Sleep takes place years after the events at the Overlook Hotel and focuses on the now middle-aged Danny who is still traumatized. He’s followed in his father’s footsteps and has problems with anger management and alcoholism. He soon gives up drinking and settles in a small town in New Hampshire. While there, his psychic abilities start to resurface and he develops a psychic link with a 12-year-old girl named Abra Stone who he must save after he discovers her life is being threatened by a tribe of paranormals led by a man named Rose the Hat.
Ahead of Doctor Sleep, fans can expect a remake of Pet Sematary to land on April 19 2019 and the conclusion to 2017’s summer hit IT on September 7 2019. Until then, (and especially if you still haven’t seen it) we recommend Netflix’s Gerald’s Game!