Mike Flanagan is once again jumping into the world of Stephen King with his new Carrie miniseries, which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Flanagan has been upfront that his new take on Carrie makes some big changes to Stephen King’s lore, changes that King himself “was excited about.” It seems to be thrilling fans who never read King’s novel (or saw Brian De Palma’s 1976 film adaptation), but also offering something fresh to longtime Stephen King fans who know the book and film all too well.
Mike Flanagan is now on his fourth Stephen King adaptation with this Carrie miniseries. Flanagan has previously adapted Gerald’s Game, The Life of Chuck, and The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, and it’s safe to say he’s made changes to all of them – especially Doctor Sleep, which had to balance adapting King’s sequel novel and connecting it to Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation. So is there any King work that’s been adapted to film he feels is too sacred to mess with?
When ComicBook’s Chris Killian had the chance to speak with Carrie showrunner Mike Flanagan and the cast at the show’s press day, we had to ask if there was any Stephen King movie he wouldn’t want to see get remade. Surprisingly enough, Flanagan had a pretty hardline answer to that question: “The Shawshank Redemption? That’s my answer. It’s perfect. It’s perfect to the frame. You cannot reinterpret it. You can’t improve it. There’s no other way into it. It’s perfect. It’s not like there’s going to be something 50 years from now where it’s like, ‘Well, we understand the prison system a little differently than we did!’ There’s just nothing you can do about it. It’s pitch perfect.”
Flanagan also had a second pick on the ‘do not remake’ list: Stand By Me. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was directed by Frank Darabont while Stand By Me (1986) was directed by Rob Reiner – both considered to be top filmmakers of their respective generations. Both films have also stood the test of time and remain cinematic classics; thankfully, no one has expressed any serious interest in remaking either one. Yet.
Actress Samantha Sloyan (who plays Carrie’s mother, Margaret White) had a different take. Because of their show’s different take on Carrie, she wouldn’t endorse ever rejecting a King remake attempt. “Somebody finds a way. I’d like to believe that anybody who tries has a reason why they’re trying.” Eventually she did end up agreeing with Flanagan, though: Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me really don’t need redos. “You found the two.”
The cast of Carrie (2026) includes Summer H. Howell as Carrie, and Samantha Sloyan (Midnight Mass) playing Carrie’s overbearing mother, Margaret White. Alison Thornton plays mean girl Chris Hargensen, Josie Totah plays Chris’ friend Tina Blake, Siena Agudong plays Sue Snell, the popular girl who takes pity on Carrie, Joel Oulette plays Tommy Ross, Sue’s boyfriend, and Thalia Dudek plays Emaline West, Carrie’s friend.
Adult actors in the series include Amber Midthunder (Prey) as gym teacher Rita Desjardin, Matthew Lillard (Scream) as Principal Henry Grayle, Katte Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) as Emaline’s mom Amanda, Rahul Kohli (Midnight Mass) as English teacher Seth Peist, Tahmoh Penikett (Battlestar Galactica) as Carrie’s late father Ralph White, and Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) as Chris’ mother, Madison Hargensen.
Carrie is now streaming on Prime Video. Check out more of our interview with Mike Flanagan below, and our interview with the cast on ComicBook YouTube!
