After Deadline exclusively revealed that Mike Flanagan is re-teaming with Stephen King on a new adaptation of The Mist, the filmmaker is attempting to ease fan concerns about his take.
The writer and director explained on social media that his project “isn’t a retread” of the 2007 Frank Darabont-helmed feature film, noting that he’s “going in a different direction with the 1980 novella source material.
“I love Darabont’s film, and there’s zero point in remaking it,” he responded to a fan on BlueSky. “Which is why I’m going in a different direction. :)”
Flanagan wrote in another post, “I learned a long ago never to try to predict what the fans will or won’t argue about (everybody needs to relax, frankly; I just saw a whole chain of people foaming at the mouth over fan-made AI slop posters for The Exorcist)… but yeah, this isn’t a retread. The differences start page 1.”
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.
(L-R) Mike Flanagan and ‘The Mist’ by Stephen King
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In addition to the 2007 film, which starred Thomas Jane and Marcia Gay Harden, a 10-episode limited series adaptation created by Christian Torpe aired in 2017 on Spike.
Following Deadline’s exclusive report, Flanagan teased of his adaptation, “The Mist is going to be great. If there wasn’t an excellent answer to ‘why,’ I wouldn’t do it.
“And FWIW, I got the same ‘but why’ comments for The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, House of Usher, Carrie, The Exorcist, and even Ouija: Origin of Evil. Also got it for Life of Chuck,” added Flanagan on BlueSky. “I’ve been lucky so far in my career to only take on projects I’m really excited about.”
Meanwhile, Flanagan’s “radical redo” of The Exorcist, starring Scarlett Johansson, is scheduled for a March 12, 2027 release.