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All signs point to 2025 being a massive year in the world of upcoming Stephen King adaptations. There are as many as four films based on of the author’s books on pace to get a theatrical release and two new television shows set to premiere. That being said, if you don’t have the patience to wait that long for more King-related content, you’re in luck: a brand new short film written by the horror legend has been announced and will be arriving online in the coming days.
But as you loyal King Beat readers know, that’s not the only headline I have for you in this week’s roundup of big Stephen King news. I also have some thoughts to share about Mike Flanagan’s new Amazon miniseries adaptation of Carrie that was just announced and some major updates about the author’s new book, which he first teased back in July. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!
Stephen King Has Written An Animated Short That Will Be Debuting Online Very Soon
Stephen King’s Constant Readers have already been blessed with a plethora of great shorts from the author. After all, it was just a few months ago that we got to first pick up copies of You Like It Darker and enjoy the 13 tales of terror that unfold between its covers. Just in time for Halloween, however, King fans will soon be getting another quick treat, as a new animated short written by the author is expected to drop online in the coming days.
Details are very limited, but the short will be arriving courtesy of Dark Corners Films – a series on YouTube from filmmakers Kate Siegel, Krsy Fox and Mali Elfman. Per the channel’s description, the series is aimed at younger audiences (“from preschool to high school”) who have curiosities about the horror genre, and each video is rated on a scale of one to five pumpkins (from least scary to most scary). Stephen King is one of multiple notable names who has participated, as there are also contributions from Nightmare On Elm Street legend Heather Langenkamp and acclaimed author Paul Tremblay (A Head Full Of Ghosts, The Cabin At The End Of The World).
For a taste of what fans can expect, some of the videos have already launched online. Below you can watch Langenkamp’s story, which is rated “one pumpkin” and is called “Max And The Messy Monster.”
On the opposite side of the scary spectrum is Paul Tremblay’s “The Notes,” with a creepy tale of a game between a boy and his babysitter that goes terribly wrong:
The most recent to arrive online is “Dimples” from Kate Siegel – who notably made her directorial debut recently helming one of the segments in the horror anthology V/H/S Beyond:
The only bad news here is that the Dark Corners contribution from Stephen King is a total mystery right now. We don’t yet know if it will be an original piece or an adaptation of one of his existing short stories, and we don’t know exactly when it will be premiering. That being said, you can be one of the first in the world to watch it by subscribing to the YouTube channel.
Mike Flanagan Makes Phenomenal Stephen King Adaptations, But I Have Concerns About His New Carrie Series
At this stage in the game, it admittedly feels foolish to question the special skills of filmmaker Mike Flanagan – particularly when it comes to adapting the works of Stephen King. Fans have already seen him make two of the greatest King movies of all time with Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep, and a third is on the way next year with the theatrical release of The Life Of Chuck (which had its stunning world premiere at last month’s Toronto International Film Festival). Flanagan has now proven repeatedly that he can be trusted with the beloved author’s work… and yet, I still can’t shake apprehension following the news this week that he is developing a new miniseries adaptation of Carrie as part of the overall TV deal that his company made with Amazon back in late 2022.
Of my two principal concerns, one is very simple: do we not already have enough Carrie adaptations? Director Brian De Palma’s film from 1976 still stands up as a horror classic, and we’ve already seen two other subpar remakes try and fail to match its magic – including the 2002 TV movie (which does at least experiment with the non-linear structure from the epistolary novel) and the pointless 2013 feature from filmmaker Kimberly Peirce. I’m unclear what further needs to be said bringing this material back to the screen.
The other head-scratcher from this news is the choice of medium: an eight-episode miniseries. For one thing, while there are a number of epic Stephen King books that would be a great fit for this tremendous amount of narrative real estate, Carrie is not one of them, as King’s seminal novel is notably one of his shortest. More significantly, however, is the matter of pacing. Practically everyone in the world knows about the climactic conclusion of the iconic story – with the titular protagonist getting pig’s blood dumped on her at the prom, activating a telekinetic murder spree – and I can’t quite envision that awareness properly coexisting with seven hours of buildup.
In a few years, I might look back on this section of King Beat and think of myself as a complete fool for doubting the outstanding, well-proven skills of Mike Flanagan, who has made not just three brilliant Stephen King movies, but also a number of phenomenal originals. For now, though my reservations outweigh my anticipation for a new version of Carrie. Needless to say, I’m far more fascinated by his vision for the future of The Exorcist franchise and, of course, his developing adaptation of The Dark Tower.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on this project as it moves through development. Meanwhile, Flanagan fans can anticipate the theatrical release of The Life Of Chuck next summer and look forward to his untitled Exorcist film, which will go into production next year and is targeting a March 13, 2026 release date.
Stephen King’s Next Book Has Revealed Both A New Title And A New Release Date, And It’s Now Available For Pre-Order
Last but far from least this week is the latest update about the newest novel from Stephen King. In the wake of the short story collection You Like It Darker hitting store shelves this past summer, the author first teased what he was working on as his next tome, but only now does the new work have a brand new title, a release date, and an official plot description.
In July, King teased that he was writing his latest book about his beloved detective character Holly Gibney – following the Mr. Mercedes trilogy, The Outsider, the novella “If It Bleeds” and Holly – and while he said at the time that the story was going to be called Always Holly, that has since changed. It was announced this week that the work is now set to be called Never Flinch, and it will be made available for purchase almost exactly one year following the arrival of You Like It Darker (specifically on May 27, 2025).
According to specialty publisher Cemetery Dance, which has opened orders for normal and slipcase editions of the book, Never Flinch is a book that will feature a pair of mysteries that will intersect thanks to the investigative talents of Holly Gibney. The story will see the protagonist employed as a bodyguard for a woman’s rights activist as she heads out for a lecture tour – the principal reason for her hiring being the harassment of her employer by a stalker who appears to be becoming a greater and greater threat.
As though that weren’t drama enough, however, Holly’s help is also requested by police associate Detective Izzy James, who is on the hunt for a killer who has a murderous revenge plot targeting “thirteen innocents and one guilty.”
Counting all of the Richard Bachman books, titles he has co-written with other authors, and shorter works like Cycle Of The Werewolf and Elevation, Never Flinch will be Stephen King’s sixty-seventh novel – which is a jaw dropping output over the course of 51 years (made even more amazing when one notes that number doesn’t include collections, non-fiction, and screenplays). There actually hasn’t been a year without at least one new King book since 1976, which was between the releases of Salem’s Lot and The Shining.
It should go without saying that I’ll be counting down the time until Never Flinch’s arrival (it’s now 215 days away), and as more cool information comes to light about the work in the coming weeks/months, you can be sure I’ll include updates in this column.
That wraps up this week’s edition of The King Beat, but I’ll be back next Thursday here on CinemaBlend with all of the biggest headlines for you out of the world of Stephen King. In the meantime, you can learn all about the full history of King in film and television with my series Adapting Stephen King.