Mike Flanagan Explains Why He Broke His No-Remakes Rule for a New Take on CARRIE
Mike Flanagan has spent years being pretty firm about the fact that he doesn’t like sequels, and he doesn’t chase remakes. So, it was surprising when news broke that he was tackling a new adaptation of Carrie.
Stephen King’s first published novel has already been adapted multiple times, including four films and even a stage musical. By any standard, it’s well-trodden ground. But Flanagan insists this time is different, and according to him, the story finally presented an angle he couldn’t ignore.
More than 50 years after Stephen King introduced the world to Carrie White, Flanagan says a fresh approach revealed itself to him. The eight-episode Amazon limited series wrapped production in October, and while promoting the project, he explained what made him abandon his long-standing rule.
Flanagan told Empire Magazine: “A new way presented itself, something that felt very timely and new.”
That idea of finding unexplored space inside familiar stories has quietly become one of Flanagan’s creative trademarks. He’s less interested in repeating what audiences already know and more drawn to what hasn’t been examined yet, even if the source material feels iconic.
“I’ve really enjoyed chasing the things that hadn’t already been done, and trying to find new ways into them,” he explained. “And I used to say, ‘No sequels.'”
This isn’t the first time Flanagan’s resolve has cracked. His stance shifted years earlier when he read King’s 2013 novel Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. That book ultimately led to his 2019 film adaptation and reframed how he thought about continuing existing stories.
“That threw that in my face,” he said.
What pulled him in was the emotional evolution between the two stories. “It proved to be irresistible,” said Flanagan. “The Shining is a story about alcoholism, and because Steve wrote this sequel of sorts that is a story about recovery, it presented this thing of, ‘Oh, we’re painting the second side of the same coin; we’re completing a story.'”
Rather than rehashing prom-night carnage beat for beat, the series is positioned as a reimagining that reframes the story through a modern lens.
It follows Carrie White, a socially isolated teenager raised in near-total seclusion by her domineering mother. After her father’s sudden death, Carrie is thrust into the brutal ecosystem of high school, where a bullying scandal collides with the awakening of her telekinetic powers.
Flanagan has assembled a great ensemble to bring that vision to life. Summer Howell takes on the title role, with Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle and Samantha Sloyan as Carrie’s terrifyingly devout mother, Margaret White.
The cast also includes Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen, Thalia Dudek as Emaline, Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, Amber Midthunder as Miss Desjardin, Josie Totah as Tina, Arthur Conti as Billy, and Joel Oulette as Tommy.
Familiar Flanagan collaborators and genre favorites include Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, Katee Sackhoff, Rahul Kohli, Crystal Balint, Danielle Klaudt, and Heather Graham are also part of the series.
For Flanagan, breaking his rule was about finding a way forward that justified returning at all. If the series delivers on that promise, Carrie may finally prove that even the most adapted horror stories still have something left to say.
