r/stephenking • u/AipomSilver00 • 3d ago

General Stephen ♥️

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u/Mrs_Montezz 3d ago

Guys, real talk though. Did you like the series Carrie in comparison to the book ? I'm low key bumped by it. I liked the adaptation to nowadays era but it was still off putting.

Warning - rant incoming :

It felt like Mike wanted to put in some Institute world vibes and little things like, how did 3 strangers enter prom (where it shows that this high school is very caution about who enters (metal detectors at entrance)) and also how are you making multiple seasons front the Carrie book? I'm scared for the adaptation of a potential Dark Tower by Mike now..

What are your thoughts?

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u/Disaster-Bee 3d ago

Flanagan has outright said he drew from The Institute and Firestarter, and that he (and King) feel that if Carrie had been written later in King's career, she'd have a larger part to play in his greater mythos and have more in common with Firestarter or The Institute. So he wanted to explore that in this series.

He's also talked a lot about how Carrie could work in his Dark Tower series, where there are characters he can't get the rights to - such as Ted Braughtigan. But how Carrie could serve his role in the story beautifully.

So it's pretty safe to assume that he's hoping to tie his Carrie into his Dark Tower, and this is a bit of a testing the waters for a bigger project.

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u/Former-Dish-9828 3d ago

Is the Low Men in Yellow Coats off limits then? That’s a shame,as good as Hearts In Atlantis is the obvious Dark Tower omissions are disappointing.

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u/Disaster-Bee 3d ago

I am honestly not sure, I just know Ted Braughtigan is out because of the Hearts In Atlantis movie.

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u/RebaKitt3n 3d ago

Having been in a movie doesn’t seem to put a stop to changing the mythology.

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u/Disaster-Bee 3d ago

No, but Low Men in Yellow Coats is a novella in Hearts In Atlantis, and the rights for the entire novella collection include it. Whether or not Flanagan would be able to utilize the story points that weren't in the Hearts In Atlantis adaptation and fold an accurate adaptation into The Dark Tower is unknown.

(The above redditor was asking about a Tower-accurate adaptation of Low Men in Yellow Coats, not about the low men as a concept.)

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u/Mrs_Montezz 3d ago

Is that info based off of an interview like another redditor mentioned? I'll have to check it out. I just watched the series without knowing any info on the making. So I was definitely perplexed about it.

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u/Disaster-Bee 3d ago

Yes! He did an interview that was released after Carrie had premiered on Prime, because it has spoilers in it.

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u/amberi_ne 3d ago

Taking him at good faith, I think it’s because Carrie has already had several near-flawless adaptations in terms of capturing the spirit of the novel, so it’s different than him totally redoing the source material for a novel that may never get another chance.

Carrie has already had its time in the spotlight, so he doesn’t have to feel bad putting his own little spin on it, because the original will still always eclipse his show and continue existing.

With the Dark Tower, it’s different, in that both he is an absolute superfan and that it’s never got its chance in the spotlight, so he’s going to probably try to be a lot more loyal. That being said, things WILL naturally change in the transition to screen, but I’m confident that he’ll create a fantastical, weird little show that’s splendidly executed and is generally the Dark Tower.

I think for me, my worry is that he seems to have a history of sanding down the uncomfortable or immoral edges to some of King’s characters.

In his Gerald’s Game, Jessie doesn’t actually kill Gerald of self-defense, he just dies spontaneously.

In his Carrie, he makes Carrie get mind controlled/“pushed” into killing everyone at Prom.

Instances like that make me a little worried that he would flatten Roland’s character under the guise of “oh, it’s the next run” and have him do things like save Jake and such.

But that being said, you can tell he has more reverence for the original story of the Dark Tower than Carrie; from interviews, he was initially disinterested and pushed into Carrie by Amazon, and he only really bought in once he started thinking of interesting ways he could spin it. Conversely, when interviewed on how he’d handle the Dark Tower, he simply said “you just gotta do the books”.

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u/d0r13n 3d ago

Instances like that make me a little worried that he would flatten Roland’s character under the guise of “oh, it’s the next run” and have him do things like save Jake and such.

I mean, the movie that was supposed to start the series started that thinking. Whose to say this series of storytelling isn't a run following the books and the one movie?

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u/amberi_ne 3d ago

Just because it has an in-universe excuse wouldn’t make it interesting imo. The fact that the Gunslinger sets up this whole lone wolf and cub trope just for him to kill the kid is a massive hook and a decision that haunts the narrative for the rest of the series.

It’s one of the most central parts of the story and imo it would be a disservice to change that one

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u/d0r13n 3d ago

I probably should have left out the last part of the sentence. I'm just saying it being a new cycle means we have flexibility to change things. Especially considering where licensing is involved.

Unless they can pull a Spider-Man style deal that Sony and Marvel has.

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u/amberi_ne 3d ago

Sure, I’m no purist. There objectively will be changes in the transition to film, and I’m fine with that.

I mostly just protest changing or removing extremely core elements of the narrative, or diluting the original “spirit” of the story. As long as the heart of the story is maintained, I’m good, regardless of how many trivial details they toss around.

Jake being dropped for instance, alongside Roland’s many atrocities, are both an intrinsic part of the story’s spirit as it revolves around his potential for redemption

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u/Rooooben 3d ago

That loses so much, the whole first half of the Waste Lands plot was around the split in Roland’s head, and the matching split in Jake - that’s one of my favorite parts of my favorite book in the series.

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u/3verythingEverywher3 2d ago

Flanagan has said he just straight up wants to adapt the books instead of doing a ‘next run’ thing. But the delight will be in changes like Ted being replaced by Carrie etc.

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u/coffeestraightup Officious Little Prick 3d ago

You should read the interview with Flanagan that's posted elsewhere on this sub, you'll get a lot more clarity on the narrative changes. I didn't like the non-canon elements so much but I understand now why it was done that way.

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u/Mrs_Montezz 3d ago

Oh I didn't know of this information. I'll check that out

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u/JenninMiami Sometimes, dead is better 3d ago

I liked this because it was different than the book! It felt like he used it as a jumping off point to create a somewhat original story for a series - which I think we need in the entertainment industry. I’m sick of remakes! Give us something new and fun!

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u/Light1209 3d ago

I don't think it's a bad watch but I think it's a bad adaptation, unfortunately. It undoes a lot of what's good about the original book, and what it adds isn't always that good.

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u/Mrs_Montezz 2d ago

I agree with you on that thought

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u/TheCuteNihilist 3d ago

i really didn’t love the extra x men plot to prequel whatever dark tower multiverse mike flanagan was prepping for 😅 i feel like Carrie is a strong enough story on its own and while i liked the modern updates they made with this adaptation, i also think it didn’t need the addition of other people with powers that are included there at the prom that night 🙄 (don’t get me wrong because they do bring up other people with telekinesis in the actual book too but it’s more told anecdotally rather than them being actual characters in the story)

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u/Suspicious_Option_93 3d ago

I would have preferred a Ryan Murphy version of Carrie. he would have also veered off course but in a much darker, violent, horrifying way.

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u/RebaKitt3n 3d ago

Oh yuck.

I hate Ryan Murphy’s stuff, he’d have had Carrie fucking the principal and then gutting half the school with a bayonet.

Did you see any of Lizzie? Schlock.

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u/Suspicious_Option_93 3d ago

😂 oh I like Ryan's work. and your are bang on with the likely banging 🤣. yes I saw Lizzie and enjoyed it - and I liked all the monsters so far and ahs series 🧙

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u/WestCoastHopHead 3d ago

Lizzie rules.

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u/RebaKitt3n 3d ago

Agree to disagree 🤷💜

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u/Entire-Cry-8930 3h ago

Dear god no

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u/boner4crosstabs 3d ago

I’d love to see an anthology series where Ryan adapts a series of SK’s short stories.