Mike Flanagan Wins Coveted Award For Stephen King Adaptation

The movie celebrated its world premiere during the event’s first weekend and, one full week and many other movies later, audiences voted to give the movie the prestigious trophy.

In a statement, the beloved filmmaker addressed the folks who voted, writing, “I’m absolutely overwhelmed. We’re so grateful that The Life of Chuck connected with audiences in such a powerful way, but never expected this.”

Feedback from the festival had already been rolling in prior to the People’s Choice award announcement. Following the debut of Mike Flanagan’s latest feature-length production, critics in attendance took to Rotten Tomatoes to sing their praise for the project.

Currently, The Life of Chuck holds an incredibly impressive 90% approval rating, meaning the movie is well on its way to becoming Certified Fresh.

Known for gathering nothing but the best performers in the business, Mike Flanagan hit another home run in casting for The Life of Chuck.

The movie is led by Tom Hiddleston (Loki) in the titular role, with an ensemble that includes Mark Hamill (the Star Wars franchise), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Karen Gillan (the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise), Matthew Lillard (Scream), Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), Kate Siegel (Hush), and Jacob Tremblay (Doctor Sleep).

For those who are familiar with Flanagan’s deal with Netflix on titles like The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and more, you’ll also spot some frequent collaborators in the Stephen King adaptation including Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, and horror queen, Heather Langenkamp.

If there are two people whose names are synonymous with horror it’s Stephen King and Mike Flanagan. However, from the moment that he announced that The Life of Chuck would be his next project, Flanagan was very clear about one thing – this will not be a horror movie.

Instead (without giving too much away), the title will tell the story of its main character backward from his death to his younger years, weaving in some sci-fi elements along the way.

If you’re wondering where in Stephen King’s vast repertoire of books the title lands, interested parties would be able to track down the novella inside the author’s 2020 collection If It Bleeds.

While he may still hold a grudge against Stanley Kubrick for what the legendary filmmaker did to The Shining, this marks the third time that Mike Flanagan has adapted one of the horror maestro’s books for the big screen, previously backing Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep.

Beyond The Life of Chuck, Flanagan is also in the process of doing the same with the writer’s book series, The Dark Tower.

Outside of the Stephen King universe, Mike Flanagan is on board to step into another beloved batch of iconic horror and mark it with his stamp. After The Life of Chuck, he’s set to take over the reins once held by David Gordon Green and revamp The Exorcist franchise with a new film.

Last year, Green set out to helm a trilogy but after The Exorcist: Believer was a box office bust and largely panned by the fandom, the team moved in a different direction, hiring Flanagan to restore it to its former glory.

Now that Mike Flanagan has received the People’s Choice honor following The Life of Chuck’s premiere at TIFF, we hope that a wide theatrical release date is announced soon.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter