(Image: Amazon)
The first images from Amazon's new "Carrie" series, executive produced by "Doctor Sleep" director Mike Flanagan, have been released today via Entertainment Weekly. The outlet also published an exclusive interview with Flanagan, who serves as the show's creator.
In the interview, Flanagan noted that while adapting a Stephen King novel usually involves condensing the source material, the show's eight-episode run offered a rare chance to expand the world of "Carrie." For instance, where past film versions focused primarily on the days leading up to the prom, the new series will incorporate the novel's external investigation perspective. This includes 911 calls from the night of the massacre, subsequent witness testimonies, police reports, and scientific studies attempting to explain Carrie's telekinetic powers.
(Image: Amazon)
Flanagan also revealed that starting with the second episode, each installment will open with a short story about a different telekinetic woman from another time and place, chronicling how she came to accept her own abilities. These vignettes will echo Carrie's own experiences. Flanagan teased that uncovering Carrie's "special place among these women" is one of the central mysteries the series will explore.
Flanagan emphasized that this is a part of King's novel that previous film adaptations, especially the 1976 version, have never depicted.
(Image: Amazon)
Entertainment Weekly also highlighted changes to the characters' backstories in the series. In this version, Carrie and her mother, Margaret, have lived in such deep seclusion that the government is unaware of their existence. It is only after the sudden death of Margaret's husband, Ralph, that they are forced into the light, leading to a teenage Carrie attending public school for the very first time.
Flanagan described his version of Carrie as "bright, enthusiastic, curious, and sincere," a departure from her traditionally introverted and fearful portrayals. He explained that she "walks into the forest of adolescence with no sense of the danger and with an innate trust in humanity and goodness."
(Image: Amazon)
Similarly, Margaret's character has been reimagined. In the novel and the 1976 film, Margaret is an abusive, domineering mother. In Flanagan's take, she is a deeply loving and protective parent. He elaborated that she simply doesn't know how to protect her daughter and believes the only way is to cut her off from the world. This isolation isn't meant to be punitive; rather, she creates a "private utopia" at home where her daughter can live with sincerity and curiosity. Flanagan called it a "fundamentally different mother-daughter dynamic."
(Image: Amazon)
The new "Carrie" series stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie White and Samantha Sloyan as her mother, Margaret. The cast also includes Amber Midthunder as the gym teacher, Matthew Lillard as the principal, and Heather Graham, Katee Sackhoff, and Flanagan's wife and frequent collaborator, Kate Siegel, in yet-to-be-disclosed roles. The series is scheduled to premiere this fall.
via： Entertainment Weekly