Mike Flanagan’s The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep scores composers

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Director Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Stephen King's novel DOCTOR SLEEP starring Ewan McGregor is heading our way in January 2020. Serving as a sequel to the King classic THE SHINING, this new film stars McGregor as an adult version of Danny Torrance. Recently we passed along the news that filming had wrapped on the flick and today we know The Newton Brothers will be composing the sequel's score.

The Newton Brothers said in a statement:

The Shining is such an impressive piece of work in all forms, and Doctor Sleep picks up from that in such a brilliant way. Stephen King is incomparable  Working with Mike is an incredible honor every time. The material he works with, the stories he tells and adapts, the talent, the crew, the producers … everyone involved brings their A-game every time and it inspires us to create the absolute best score for the film that we possibly can. It’s humbling to be on this team.

The composing duo, made up of Andy Grush and Taylor Stewart (see above), are reteaming with director Mike Flanagan, with whom they worked on a number of films, including the acclaimed King adaptation GERALD'S GAME, OCULUS, HUSH, BEFORE I WAKE, OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL, and of course his recent hit Netflix series THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. On top of that, the brothers' other horror offerings include PROXY, THE BYE-BYE MAN, SEE NO EVIL 2, OPEN WATER 3: CAGE DIVE, EXTINCTION, and ESCAPE PLAN 2: HADES. 

Recently I (finally) finished reading King's novel and as you might imagine, this film has since moved up to the very tip-top of my must-see list. Well, maybe right after IT: CHAPTER TWO and PET SEMATARY. Maybe. Anyhow, I'm dying to see what bits and pieces from the novel Flanagan and company bring to life on the big screen. I guess we'll find out in give-or-take a year's time, but until then, let us know how excited YOU are below! 

The book's synopsis:

On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and tween Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

The much-anticipated flick also stars Kyleigh Curran as Abra Stone, Carl Lumbly as Dick Halloran, Alex Essoe as Wendy Torrance, Bruce Greenwood as Danny's friend Dr. John Dalton, Rebecca Ferguson as cult leader Rose the Hat, Zahn McClarnon as her right-hand man Crow Daddy, and Jocelin Donahue in an unspecified role. Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Stephen King's DOCTOR SLEEP shines into theaters January 24, 2020.