Mike Flanagan is preparing to bring Stephen King‘s 1980 novella, The Mist, back to theaters with a fresh adaptation. This new film, which Flanagan will write, direct, and produce, is being developed by Warner Bros. Pictures and was reported by Deadline on February 10.
The Mist’s Previous Film and Television Versions
This upcoming movie will be the third major Hollywood attempt to adapt The Mist, following Frank Darabont’s 2007 film and the short-lived TV series aired on Spike TV during the summer of 2017. The story, originally published in King’s 1980 anthology Dark Forces and later included in the 1985 collection Skeleton Crew, centers on a group of individuals trapped inside a grocery store in Bridgton, Maine, after a mysterious fog reveals terrifying, otherworldly creatures.
A Dark Tale of Survival and Fear
The narrative is delivered through the eyes of David Drayton, an artist and father who observes the breakdown of order and reason as fear drives survivors toward desperation. Although the origins of the mist and the monsters remain uncertain, the novella suggests they stem from a secret government experiment called the Arrowhead Project, aimed at exploring alternate dimensions.
Frank Darabont’s 2007 Film and Its Impact
The 2007 adaptation featured actors Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, and Marcia Gay Harden. It achieved moderate commercial success, earning nearly $60 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. While not as critically embraced as Darabont’s other Stephen King adaptations, such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, The Mist gained notoriety for its bleak ending, which King himself favors over the novella’s original conclusion.
Darabont described his vision for the film, saying,
“When I was reading it, somehow I just pictured one of those low-budget movies that we grew up all watching,”
he said during a 2022 interview compiled by Slash Film.
“In my case, pre-video, late at night usually on some creature feature. It just reminded me of that sort of ’50s, early ’60s, low-budget, usually black and white, grainy kind of horror movie. It just felt like one of those things. And that appealed to me greatly as well. So it’s a fascinating balance to me between very high-brow and very low-brow elements. And nobody does that better than Stephen King.”
—Frank Darabont, director
Mike Flanagan’s Expanding Stephen King Projects
Flanagan is deeply involved in multiple horror projects, including a new interpretation of The Exorcist and two television series based on King’s novels Carrie and The Dark Tower. His return to Stephen King’s work with The Mist adds to a growing list of adaptations under his direction, highlighting his ongoing influence in translating King’s terrifying worlds to screen.
