Mike Flanagan and Stephen King go together like the most horrific peanut butter and (probably grape) jelly imaginable. The former has adapted multiple works (Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep) written by the latter and wants to make The Dark Tower happen, too. Soon, however, he will be fully diving into The Exorcist reboot, but before that became a greenlit thing, Flanagan finished filming an adaptation of King’s The Life Of Chuck, which is based upon a King novella from his If It Bleeds collection.
The project stars Tom Hiddleston as Charles “Chuck” Krantz, and the cast includes Flanagan regulars Mark Hamill and Kate Siegel with David Dastmalchian, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, and Heather Langenkamp also co-starring.
The Life Of Chuck links three separate stories, in reverse, to first reveal the main character’s death from a brain tumor and then scroll backward toward his earlier years growing up in a seemingly haunted house. This is also not a typical Stephen King story and aligns more tonally with Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption than The Shining or any of the dozens of other King film and TV adaptations. When can you watch the movie?
Following the film’s debut at TIFF, Deadline has reported that The Life Of Chuck was scooped up by Neon for distribution in theaters. Thus far, the indie house has only revealed that this life-affirming flick will surface in Summer 2025 for your popcorn-crunching satisfaction.
Fingers crossed for more precise details soon, though, because Flanagan has called this “a tenacious little miracle of a movie from the start & I’m forever indebted to this wonderful cast and crew. This film is deeply special to me, and I’m elated that it’s going to exist in the world.”