Mike Flanagan's take on Stephen King novel of the same name came out in 1974, so readers and audiences have had plenty of time to get familiar with the characters and storylines of Carrie.

And, indeed, Carrie has a well-deserved reputation as one of King's greatest horror novels. Its short narrative of religious trauma, teenage angst, and misogyny remains as powerful today as it was when it was released fifty years ago. The story of Carrietta "Carrie" White is tragic, compelling, and worthy of multiple adaptations, whether in one of the several movie iterations of Carrie or in the TV show. Now that Prime Video has released the cast for Mike Flanagan's take on Carrie, it is possible to put new faces to the story's iconic characters.

How The Carrie TV Show's Summer Howell Compares To Carrie White

A Horror Movie Veteran To Play Horror's Greatest Anti-Villain

Because Carrie White is the core of Carrie, there is no character whose casting is more important. Summer Howell, who made her acting debut in the 2013 horror movie The Curse Of Chucky, has been cast as Carrie for Flanagan's take on Carrie. In a lot of ways, Howell's acting experience makes her an ideal choice to play Carrie – she has been a horror actor since she was just 8 years old, so there is no doubt that she is up to the role.

There are only two potential drawbacks to her casting. Firstly, Carrie White is a 16-year-old high school student, whereas Summer Howell is 21. But the larger potential concern is that Summer Howell does not look very much like Carrie White. Carrie is ridiculed for being overweight, having bad acne, and failing to live up to traditional beauty standards. Summer Howell would need a lot of makeup to match that book description. It matters thematically in King's Carrie that Carrie is considered unattractive by everyone around her, so it will be interesting to see how Flanagan's show deals with the character.

How The Carrie TV Show's Matthew Lillard Compares To Principal Grayle

An Iconic Actor For A Smaller Role

For many viewers, Matthew Lillard is immediately recognizable as Shaggy from the 2002 live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo. Most recently, he played Gus in Flanagan's adaptation of another Stephen King novel, The Life of Chuck, and Steve Raglan in Five Nights at Freddy's. Now, Matthew Lillard will play Principal Grayle in Carrie.

Principal Grayle wants to see the students who bully Carrie punished, but he is not able to step into Carrie's life more directly...

For most of Carrie, Principal Grayle is a force for good in the background, even if he is not a prominent character. Principal Gayle wants to see the students who bully Carrie punished, but he is not able to step into Carrie's life more directly and offer help. At 55, Lillard is the right age to play Principal Grayle, and his decades of acting experience mean that he will do justice to the role.

How The Carrie TV Show's Samantha Sloyan Compares To Margaret White

A Veteran Actor Who Has Worked Closely With Mike Flanagan

Samantha Sloyan is yet another star who will almost certainly elevate Carrie. In the show, Sloyan will be playing Margaret White, Carrie's extremely Christian mother and one of the story's primary antagonists. What makes Sloyan particularly exciting is her previous work with Flanagan. Sloyan has been a part of most of Flanagan's previous streaming projects, and in Midnight Mass in particular she played a religious zealot whose actions lead to the destruction of her whole town. Sloyan was amazing in that role, so she will almost certainly excel at playing Margaret White.

How The Carrie TV Show's Siena Agudong Compares To Sue Snell

A Nickolodean Star Transitioning To Horror

Sue Snell is one of the most interesting characters in Carrie, and it will be exciting to see Siena Agudong's take on the role. In Carrie, Sue is not only one of the most popular girls at Ewen High School; she is also one of the most mature. Although Sue participates in bullying Carrie at first, she quickly comes around and realizes that the way her fellow students treat Carrie is wrong.

In essence, Sue is the golden girl in her high school, who everyone expects to go on to be a future homemaker and leader of social clubs. As an actor increasingly making the shift from children's TV to more adult shows, it will be exciting to see Agudong adapt the role to the twenty-first century.

How The Carrie TV Show's Alison Thornton Compares To Chris Hargensen

The Biggest Bully At Ewen High

If Sue Snell is the golden girl of Ewen High School, Chris Hargensen is her dark reflection. Chris is also part of the popular clique that bullies Carrie, but unlike Sue, Chris doubles down on her actions as the plot progresses. Indeed, Chris Hargensen organizes the bloody prank that is the climax of Carrie. Alison Thornton will play Chris Hargensen in Flanagan's TV adaptation of Carrie, and she absolutely fits the role.

Thornton has already shown her ability to play a popular high school mean girl, so there is no doubt that she can handle Chris.

In shows like School Spirits, Thornton has already shown her ability to play a popular high school mean girl, so there is no doubt that she can handle Chris. The only potential drawback in Thornton's casting is her age. At 25, Thornton is notably older than 17-year-old Chris Hargensen, but since she convincingly played a high schooler in School Spirits as recently as 2025, that should not be a huge issue.

How The Carrie TV Show's Amber Midthunder Compares To Miss Desjardin

An Established Actress Plays A New Teacher

Amber Midthunder has been an actor her entire life, and that experience and maturity is something that she will hopefully bring to the role of Miss Desjardin in Carrie. Miss Desjardin is in her first year teaching, and her character highlights the difference in maturity that only a few years out of high school creates. She is an advocate for Carrie White, and as a teacher she can and does stand up to bullies like Chris Hargensen.

What's interesting is that, although at 28, Midthunder is approximately the same age as Miss Desjardin, she is only a few years older than the actors cast as high schoolers in Carrie. In all likelihood, the costuming and makeup departments will have to emphasize what is, in reality, a small age difference in order to make Midthunder seem older than her younger castmates.

How The Carrie TV Show's Arthur Conti Compares To Billy Nolan

From Westeros To Chaimberlain Maine

Billy Nolan is one of the most terrifying characters in Carrie, embodying an intense alpha-male persona who does not flinch at violence. Although Aurthur Conti is relatively new to the world of acting, he has already made serious waves. Conti first appeared as the queen's page in an episode of The House of the Dragon in 2022, before starring as Jeremy Frazier in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Conti plays a more quiet and manipulative type of villain, so the more overtly violent and physically intimidating Billy Nolan will be an interesting shift.

How The Carrie TV Show's Joel Oulette Compares To Tommy Ross

A New Face For Ewen High's Golden Boy

Joel Oulette has been cast as Tommy Ross for Flanagan's Carrie, and it will be exciting to see what he brings to the character. Right now, Oulette is most known for his roles in Trickster, Cascade, and the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. Indeed, both Oulette and Amber Midthunder appeared in the same episodes of ATLA. Oulette will be playing Sue Snell's boyfriend Tommy Ross, who, like Sue, responds to Carrie with kindness.

Carrie is expected to be released in 2026.

In the same way that Sue is the golden girl of Ewen High, Tommy is the golden boy. Since there aren't many physical descriptions of Tommy in Carrie, it is easy to imagine Oulette in the role. However, since Tommy is a smaller character than Sue in the book, Oulette and Flanagan will have a lot of room to flesh out the character before Carrie releases on Prime Video next year.