Mike Flanagan Promises His The Mist Will Offer a Unique Take on the Story

Mike Flanagan is not aiming to remake the 2007 version of ‘The Mist’. Instead, the filmmaker intends to take Stephen King’s narrative in a fresh direction.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly during San Diego Comic-Con, Flanagan shared how his upcoming ‘The Mist’ movie will set itself apart from both King’s original novella and Frank Darabont’s acclaimed 2007 film.

The director has adopted a similar strategy with ‘Carrie’, his forthcoming King adaptation for Amazon. Rather than merely retelling the original story, Flanagan is leveraging its core concepts to create something new. He states that ‘The Mist’ will follow this same trajectory.

“With ‘Carrie’ and with ‘The Mist’, they’ve both been done spectacularly well already as feature films,” Flanagan told Entertainment Weekly. “So with ‘Carrie’, it was very much about finding a new path, trying to find something new to build. ‘The Mist’ is the same.”

This presents a significant challenge, especially since Darabont’s 2007 film is one of the most discussed Stephen King adaptations. The film featured Thomas Jane as David Drayton, a father trapped in a supermarket with his young son after an eerie mist envelops their town.

The mist conceals terrifying creatures, but the monsters outside are only part of the dilemma. As fear escalates within the supermarket, the people inside begin to turn against one another. The narrative delves into human behavior as much as it does horror.

Darabont also made substantial alterations to King’s novella, including expanding on the mysterious Arrowhead Project and modifying the story’s conclusion. That ending has become particularly notorious for its shocking twist.

Flanagan is clearly aware that he must present something novel. “It’s one of the most brutal movies I’ve ever seen,” he remarked about Darabont’s film. “That ending is jaw-dropping. My approach to the story, through the story, and out of that story is very different.”

Flanagan also mentioned that he needed to ensure King understood why another version of ‘The Mist’ was worthwhile. According to the filmmaker, King appreciates Darabont’s movie, which made their conversation even more crucial.

“When I presented that to Steve [King] — that was also important because he loves Frank’s movie — it’s like, Why are we doing this? What are we gonna do that justifies itself?” Flanagan explained. The answer seems to be a complete reimagining.

Flanagan described his approach to both ‘Carrie’ and ‘The Mist’ as deconstructing the original elements and reassembling them in a new way. “With his blessing, always!” Flanagan emphasized regarding King. “I would never contemplate it without it. But, yeah, it’s a different way to adapt things for me.”

For Flanagan, that creative freedom is part of what makes King’s work so captivating. He believes the author’s stories can be revisited without merely replicating what has come before. The filmmaker noted that King is “a storyteller whose ideas can have multiple lives.”

This could make ‘The Mist’ one of the more intriguing King adaptations to watch. Fans are already familiar with the basic premise and have seen Darabont’s version, but Flanagan seems committed to ensuring his film stands on its own.

Rather than attempting to supplant the 2007 film, he aims to create something that breathes new life into the story.

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