Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is one of the most beloved horror films of all time, which was recently expanded upon in Doctor Sleep, first by original author Stephen King, and then by director Mike Flanagan. Before the release of Doctor Sleep, director Mike Flanagan was also on track to create a prequel to The Shining—but it probably won’t happen now.

The original story of The Shining follows the Torrance family as they spend a winter at the Overlook Hotel while father, Jack Torrance, serves as the caretaker in the off-season. Doctor Sleep follows this story by exploring the life of the now-adult Danny Torrance as he forms an unlikely alliance with a young girl to fight back against a group preying on those with “the shine.”

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The story for Flanagan’s prequel would have focused on the life of Dick Hallorann, the Overlook Hotel’s cook who teaches Danny about “the shine”. Unfortunately, the prequel may no longer be moving forward, according to recent interviews with Mike Flanagan.

Titled Hallorann, Mike Flanagan’s prequel to The Shining would follow Dick Hallorann through his life, his shining abilities, and presumably some of his experiences at The Overlook Hotel. While the story sounds like a really interesting way to explore the lore of The Shining and The Overlook Hotel without going into a backstory on the hotel itself, Flanagan believes it’s unlikely the project will come to fruition.

As reported on by Flickering Myth, during a recent appearance during the Fantasia International Film Fest, Mike Flanagan gave a disappointing update on the future of his The Shining prequel project, “I don’t know if it’ll go any further, to be honest. I hope someday it gets back on track, because I really liked it.”

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When Flanagan originally discussed his prequel project, he said that the success of Doctor Sleep would likely be the indicator as to whether or not he would be allowed to move forward with his prequel. However, while Doctor Sleep did receive praise from both audiences and critics, it reportedly didn’t meet Warner Brothers’ financial expectations.

Even after the lukewarm financial earnings of Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan was still hopeful about moving forward with Hallorann, stating that the film’s performance on streaming services might open avenues for new stories. But now it seems that Flanagan’s optimism is faltering.

Potentially this is because Doctor Sleep didn’t have the performance Warner Bros. wanted on streaming platforms, or maybe it’s the COVID-19 pandemic that’s stopped the project in its tracks, regardless of the success of Doctor Sleep. Either way, this isn’t the first The Shining prequel project that’s been scrapped, which has led some fans of The Shining to become pessimistic about ever seeing a worthwhile follow-up to Kubrick’s legendary horror film. However, the future of the franchise is still unknown, so perhaps there is still cause to hope for a new The Shining movie in the coming years.

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About The Author


Maisy Flowers
(148 Articles Published)

Certified horror addict and linguistics nerd, Maisy has been watching, reading, and reviewing horror since she was old enough to get a library card. She is most often found hiding in the woods with her nose in a book, usually horror or weird fiction, or in her bedroom snuggling with her husband and many pets while watching horror movies or playing Skyrim – usually both.

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Elusive and rarely out in public, Maisy can usually be baited with cheese, punk rock, or the promise of a rousing discussion on sociolinguistics and dialectology, though she has sometimes been known to come out to explore local parks, zoos, and distilleries on occasion.

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