Summary

  • Mike Flanagan convinced Stephen King to grant him the movie rights to The Life of Chuck despite initial hesitations.
  • King was initially focused on Flanagan's work on The Dark Tower series, but eventually allowed him to adapt both stories simultaneously.
  • Flanagan expressed his belief that The Life of Chuck could be the best movie he ever makes, which convinced King to give him the opportunity.

Horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan has revealed Stephen King almost denied him the movie rights to The Life of Chuck, but was later convinced it would be a good idea. The Life of Chuck is a short story from King's collection If It Bleeds, telling the reverse biography of a man who dies of a brain tumor that lived in a haunted house as a child. A film adaptation of The Life of Chuck headed by Flanagan starring Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill has been announced.

However, speaking with The Kingcast, Flanagan revealed King was initially hesitant to let Flanagan handle The Life of Chuck because of his current work on The Dark Tower series. Starting at 4:28, Flanagan reflects on how King ultimately allowed him to adapt both works at the same time. Check out what Flanagan had to say below:

I had asked about it when it was first published, and back then, we were talking about The Dark Tower with Steve, and I had said "Oh, by the way 'Life of Chuck' I think if I got to do that it would be the best movie I may ever make" and he doesn't like to give the same person more than one property at a time, which makes enormous sense, he doesn't want them to just get stalled. And he said "Well, you know let's focus on The Dark Tower," which is you know, I'm not going to argue with that. And so we did.

And Tower's just such a juggernaut to get moving, it's like an oil tanker, that earlier this year, I think it was in early February, I was talking to him just about the strategy for the next year, and the timetable we appeared to be on for Tower, and I just asked "Hey, whatever happened to 'Life of Chuck' and he was like "Oh somebody else had it for a minute, didn't do anything with it, it came back" and I was like "Once again, I would like to reiterate, I think that will be the best movie I'll ever make," and he was like "Oh, sure, you know what, go for it." And I just seized on it. Like that was on a Friday, and I think I sent him the script Monday morning.

Why Stephen King Trusts Mike Flanagan With The Life Of Chuck

Stephen King sitting in front of his novels

Flanagan’s central project adapting one of King’s works is currently The Dark Tower, a series of books connecting all of King’s novels to one another. King has boasted for The Dark Tower in the past, indicating he sees Flanagan as a strong filmmaker. This is no doubt influenced by Flanagan’s film adaptations of two other King novels, Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep.

What makes The Life of Chuck so unique is how the tale is three short stories told in reverse order. Because the structure of the story is unique, Flanagan’s adaptation will no doubt maintain a similar style of presentation to make the film stand out. Because Flanagan is confident The Life of Chuck will be the best movie he makes, King likely trusts his vision for a memorable film adaptation of the story.

While Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher could be his scariest TV series to date, The Life of Chuck might end up being his highest-quality film given his enthusiasm. Now that Flanagan has signed a deal with Amazon, it's possible The Life of Chuck will end up streaming on Prime Video. For now, though, it seems Flanagan's focus is on making sure Stephen King's The Dark Tower and The Life of Chuck are both translated properly into visual media.

Source: The Kingcast