According to Deadline, Doctor Strange‘s Chiwetel Ejiofor and Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Karen Gillan have signed on to star in the upcoming film adaptation of Stephen King‘s short horror story The Life of Chuck, which hails from filmmaker Mike Flanagan. They will join fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe star Tom Hiddleston, who leads the movie alongside Star Wars vet Mark Hamill.
In addition, Room’s Jacob Tremblay has also been cast in the project, reuniting him with Flanagan after working together in horror films like Before I Wake and Doctor Sleep. Flanagan and producers were able to obtain a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, which allowed the film to start its production earlier this month in Alabama despite the ongoing actors strike.
What is The Life of Chuck?
“The film examines the existence of its subject Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death aged 39 from a brain tumor and ending with his childhood in a house believed to be haunted,” reads the synopsis.
The Life of Chuck is one of the three interconnected stories in King’s 2020 novella If It Bleeds. It is being directed by Flanagan, who’s best known for his work on acclaimed Netflix shows like The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and The Fall of the House of Usher. The adaptation is written and produced by Flanagan under his Intrepid Pictures banner, with QWGmire financing and producing the project.
This marks Flanagan’s third time adapting a Stephen King novel following 2017’s Gerald’s Game and The Shining sequel. The filmmaker is also looking to develop an adaptation of King’s popular novel The Dark Tower, which he previously called as his dream project.
