Get ready to get your brains bashed in with this one. It looks like the documentary ROOM 237 and Stephen King’s upcoming novel “Doctor Sleep” might not be the only ways we’ll get to revisit one of the all time horror classics. LA Times got an exclusive scoop that Warner Bros is thinking about producing a prequel to THE SHINING! Yes, you’ve read that right. While nothing is yet set in stone, the studio already has some major writing/producing talent involved with Laeta Kalogridis, as well as her partners Bradley Fischer and James Vanderbilt.
Agreeably, the names currently thrown around in relation to the project do make sense. Kalogridis has some genre experience, having penned (and executive produced) Martin Scorcese’s SHUTTER ISLAND. Fischer also handled production duties on such films as BLACK SWAN and ZODIAC, the latter of which was written by Vanderbilt (who is also involved in the script for the upcoming ROBOCOP remake).
According to early reports, “the film would focus on what happened before Jack Torrance, his wife and their psychic son arrived at the haunted retreat where Torrance soon descends into violent madness”. If that sounds like a terrible idea to you, you’ll probably be glad to learn that a spokeswoman for WB also stated that the project is “in a very early stage and not even formally in development”. No wonder the studio is being very careful with this one, as messing with one of the most cherished horror stories of all time is bound to get some people less than happy.
Rebecca De Mornay starred in the mini-series version of THE SHINING.