Mike Flanagan’s Unmade Shining Spinoff Must Happen After Stephen King Hit

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Mike Flanagan previously had a brilliant idea for a spin-off based on a Stephen King story. Although it wasn’t developed at the time, the success of HBO’s recent horror series makes it a must-make now.

More than twenty years after starting his career, Mike Flanagan has become a leading figure in horror, widely considered one of the best directors working today. He’s known for taking stories and ideas from classic literature and reimagining them in a way that feels fresh, relevant, and deeply unsettling.

His adaptations of Stephen King’s novels have been surprisingly true to the source material while still feeling new and exciting. It’s a shame that one particularly clever idea he had for expanding on a popular Stephen King story never came to fruition, and it really deserves to be revisited.

Mike Flanagan Had Planned A Genius Spin-Off Of Stephen King’s The Shining

Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining, received generally positive feedback from both audiences and critics. However, the film didn’t perform well financially in theaters. In a recent interview with Script Apart, Flanagan shared that he had considered creating a spin-off series centered around the character Dick Hallorann.

Dick Hallorann is a character who appears in multiple stories and films by Stephen King. He’s a key figure in both The Shining novel and the famous 1980 movie, and he also features in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep. Flanagan actually envisioned a larger story that would tie together Doctor Sleep, The Shining, and IT.

Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King Adaptations Rotten Tomatoes Score
Gerald’s Game 91%
Doctor Sleep 78%
The Life of Chuck 81%
Carrie TBD

He began the story by describing Hallorann cleaning the kitchen of the Overlook Hotel, getting everything ready for the new winter caretaker. But a single visit to Room 237 would trigger powerful memories from his past, particularly his childhood in Derry and frightening experiences with Pennywise.

During the story’s climax, the protagonist heads to the hotel lobby, anticipating a meeting with the winter caretaker. However, instead of finding the Torrance family as expected, he encounters Delbert Grady, his wife, and their twin daughters, setting up a potential new story or continuation of the series.

The proposed spin-off sounded fantastic even in the planning stages. Sadly, it was cancelled after Doctor Sleep didn’t do well in theaters. Director Mike Flanagan was disappointed by the film’s performance, as it also meant he wouldn’t be able to adapt other Stephen King stories for the screen. Here’s what he had to say:

After reviewing the box office results on Monday, any plans for spinoffs were cancelled by Tuesday. I understood the decision, given how the films performed – it just made logical sense, even though it was disappointing. Those ideas are no longer being pursued.

IT: Welcome To Derry Proves Flanagan’s Dick Hallorann Movie Can Still Work

HBO’s new series, IT: Welcome to Derry, is off to a strong start, attracting 5.7 million viewers in its first three days (according to Deadline). This makes it one of HBO’s most popular premieres ever, which is impressive considering the network’s history of successful shows. A key character, Dick Hallorann, has a significant backstory explored throughout the series, revealing a detailed history of his life in Derry.

Dick Hallorann has crossed paths with Pennywise during the show and will probably encounter the famous Stephen King villain again later on. The series IT: Welcome to Derry demonstrates how interesting a story centered around Hallorann can be within the larger Stephen King world. While Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was excellent, it didn’t fully explore Hallorann’s potential as a hero.

Mike Flanagan once had an idea for a spin-off series based on Stephen King’s The Shining, and it could have been a great addition to the story, especially considering the success of his work for HBO. Although it doesn’t seem likely that Flanagan’s idea will be revisited, fans are hopeful that the upcoming IT: Welcome to Derry will finally give the character Hallorann the in-depth storyline he deserves.

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2025-11-18 06:29