The Shining: Ben Stiller to play Jack Torrance in stage adaptation

There’s a new adaptation of Stephen King‘s classic horror novel The Shining (buy it HERE) in the works, but this one isn’t heading to screens big or small. This new take on The Shining is being created for the stage, with Ivo van Hove set to direct and Simon Stephens writing the adaptation. Rehearsals for the play are expected to begin in the fall, with the aim being to have performances in London’s West End in January of 2023. After The Shining plays in the West End for a while, it’s expected to move to Broadway, and Deadline reports that Ben Stiller is currently in talks to take on the role of Jack Torrance.

Deadline hears the stage play of The Shining will be closer to King’s novel than Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1980 film version was. Of course, Jack Nicholson played Jack Torrance in that film. King was famously not pleased with that adaptation, and later teamed up with director Mick Garris for a 1997 mini-series version of The Shining that starred Steven Weber as Jack Torrance.

King’s novel has the following description:

Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote . . . and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.

The stage version of The Shining is being produced by Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender.

Stiller has previously played levels of homicidal rage for laughs in things like Mystery Men and Friends. It will be interesting to see him take on such an intense and familiar serious role.

How do you feel about Ben Stiller jumping into The Shining on the stage?