Mike Flanagan’s The Mist is going to be very different from its previous adaptation.
The horror filmmaker has teased some big differences between his new adaptation of Stephen King’s The Mist and Frank Darabont’s original movie. Mike Flanagan’s version of The Mist is being produced by Warner Bros. Flanagan will be directing the new adaptation of King’s 1980 novella from his own screenplay of the story.
Now, Flanagan has confirmed via posts on Bluesky that his version of The Mist won’t be anything like the original adaptation headed by Darabont in 2007. The horror filmmaker explained that “differences start page 1” between the scripts for both films, directly addressing how his rendition is going to take things “in a different direction.” See what he said below:
I learned a long ago never to try to predict what the fans will or won’t argue about (everybody needs to relax, frankly; I just saw a whole chain of people foaming at the mouth over fan-made AI slop posters for The Exorcist)… but yeah, this isn’t a retread. The differences start page 1.
I love Darabont’s film, and there’s zero point in remaking it. Which is why I’m going in a different direction 🙂
King’s comic horror novella follows a group of people in Brighton, Maine who are forced to fight for survival after a mysterious mist causes monstrous creatures to attack the town. Its first adaptation from Darabont stayed true to the novella, focusing on both the creatures and survivors as the core threats. He also famously changed The Mist‘s ending, earning praise from King.
Its second adaptation came in the form of a TV show on Spike, altering the mist to contain both supernatural threats and psychological effects, namely forcing people to confront their past mistakes. The Mist TV show earned mixed reviews from critics, and was canceled after season 1 aired.
As for Flanagan’s version, it’s unclear as of writing how true to the novella he’ll end up staying. There will be big changes from the very start when contrasted with Darabont’s movie, signaling a number of new ideas to keep the story fresh. Given the high bar set by Flanagan’s many past King adaptations, it’s bound to be an intriguing take.
The Mist is one of multiple King adaptations Flanagan is working on right now. His Carrie TV show on Prime Video is expected to premiere in October of this year, while he’s also working on a TV adaptation of The Dark Tower series. Outside of King, Flanagan is writing Clayface for the DCU and will direct a new Exorcist movie, due in theaters next year.
This means it may be some time before more details about his version of The Mist come to light. But, given what he’s said about the movie thus far, it seems like the changes will make for a meaningful experience that seperates it from the type of story Darabont set out to tell in his own adaptation.
- Release Date
-
November 21, 2007
- Runtime
-
126 minutes
- Director
-
Frank Darabont