Nineteen years ago, writer/director Frank Darabont brought a version of the Stephen King novella The Mist to the screen, and many genre fans thought he did a great job with it… but if there’s any other filmmaker that could get fans excited about a new take on the concept, it’s Mike Flanagan. Deadline reports that it’s actually happening: Flanagan is on board to write and direct a new version of The Mist for Warner Bros. Pictures, and will also be producing the film through Red Room alongside Tyler Thompson and Spyglass’s Gary Barber and Chris Stone. Alexandra Magistro will also executive produce for Red Room.
Synopsis
In The Mist, a small town in Maine is consumed by a thick mysterious fog from which creatures emerge to attack the townsfolk. A group of survivors hole up in a local grocery store. As often happens with King’s fiction, anarchy and societal reordering brings out the best in some, and the absolute worst in others, sparking mob mentality and empowering unhinged extremists who become as dangerous as the horrors outside. The novella was originally published in the 1980 anthology Dark Forces, then King put it in his 1985 short story collection Skeleton Crew. In addition to the 2007 film adaptation, there was a short-lived TV series adaptation in 2017.
A King Regular
Flanagan has previously been at the helm of the Stephen King adaptations Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep and is also working on series adaptations of The Dark Tower and Carrie for Amazon Studios. He was set to write and direct a film adaptation of King’s novel Revival for Warner Bros. several years ago, but that project fell apart.
The director is currently gearing up to go into production on a new Exorcist sequel that’s scheduled for a March 12, 2027 theatrical release, so it will be a little while before he’s able to really dive into the world of The Mist.
I’m glad to gear that there’s going to be a new take on The Mist with Mike Flanagan at the helm. I loved the novella when I first read it sometime in the ’90s and spent a decade dreaming of the potential of a film adaptation. For me, Darabont’s movie did not live up to that potential. I found it to be underwhelming, and I hated the ending Darabont came up with. King applauded the change, but I much preferred the novella’s George A. Romero-esque “journeying further into the apocalypse” ending over the movie’s ending, which was not only the ultimate downer but also seemed to confirm that the detestable human villain had been right all along. I look forward to seeing what Flanagan will do with the story.
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