'Shining' sequel happening, Stephen King says
At first glance you might think that we鈥檙e now running mock stories. Sorry, no such luck.
Instead, long-standing speculation has now given way to fact: Stephen King is writing a sequel novel to - more to the point, he has some of said sequel already written, he recently read some it, and we have video of his reading.
The sequel will be called Dr. Sleep, and it will follow The Shining鈥榮 young protagonist, Danny, 30 years after the incident at the Overlook Hotel. Danny now uses his psychic powers to literally ease the minds of terminally-ill patients in hospice care. Things get twisted when vampires show up - most likely viewing the the place as the perfect buffet, if we had to guess - and Psychic vs. Vampire battle ensues?
By now, most people are familiar with the aggravation that comes with learning about another unnecessary movie sequel - it鈥檚 kind of new to feel that aggravation about a novel, but that sentiment is already out there and swelling. It will be hard to convince a lot of people that The Shining needs a continuation -let alone that words 鈥橳he Shining鈥� and 鈥榲ampires鈥� even belong in the same sentence. Here at Screen Rant, we鈥檙e already nervous about a possible (semi-)sequel to Stanley Kubrick鈥檚 classic 1980 film adaptation of The Shining, as we鈥檙e sure a lot of other movie fans are as well.
Sure, Pet Sematary II and Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace have their fair share of fans - but typically speaking, movies sequels spun out of Stephen King stories don鈥檛 have a good track record. Would the result be different since King himself is crafting this new tale? Maybe the acclaimed author has a sweet twist that will make this another great story in his litany of great stories - but in our opinion, it鈥檒l have to be one hell of a trick.
The idea of psychics battling vampires has been done (see: Brian Lumley鈥檚 expansive series) - however, listening to the passage King read, it鈥檚 clear that Dr. Sleep has some heavy Americana themes (Medicare, RV people, American roadways), possibly serving as some sort of social allegory in similar fashion to how The Shining examined themes like family dynamic and addiction. If that鈥檚 the case, one can only speculate about the possible implications of the title (on the one hand, an obvious reference to Danny鈥檚 character, but beyond that鈥�?).
How do you feel about a sequel to The Shining? What about a possible movie sequel? Let us know in the comments.
Kofi Outlaw blogs at .
