It’s been a wild year for fans of both Mike Flanagan and Matthew Lillard, especially when both men have teamed up for the upcoming 2025 movie The Life of Chuck. The Stephen King adaptation was apparently a partnership that started with what Lillard describes as “a very Hollywood thing,” which ultimately led to the Scream icon further hyping the Tom Hiddleston-led release.
Thanks to speaking with the man himself about this new project, I’m even more hyped about what we know about The Life of Chuck, especially considering Mr. Flanagan’s track record with his own would-be repertory company of actors. Without seeing the film, I really do hope that this isn't the end of their work together, as the reactions so far seem to indicate that this is a match made in heaven.
How A Three Hour Lunch Between Matthew Lillard And Mike Flanagan Led To The Life Of Chuck
It was an absolute delight to speak with Matthew Lillard on behalf of his brand Find Familiar Spirits. A company co-founded by the Scooby Doo star, the label sells quality liquor with a storytelling twist. Dungeons & Dragons fans would know of the Quest’s End line of bourbons that include comic books unique to this product line, and Lillard is about to debut a new brand in Macabre Tequila.
The first bottle in the line, Rare, Fine & Limited Reposado Tequila, is currently available for pre-order in anticipation of its January 2025 debut. And with this particular libation comes an original novella penned by Mike Flanagan himself, entitled “Rare, Fine, & Limited.” This horror offering, as well as The Life of Chuck partnership, all sprang from a singular event that Matthew Lillard described to CinemaBlend, as follows:
We actually sat down at a very Hollywood thing, we did lunch together. We had a mutual friend, and he was like, ‘Mike Flanagan wants to meet you,’ and I'm like, ‘Great.’ I didn't really know his work at the time. I don't consume a lot of horror in my life, I know that sounds a little surprising. We sat and had lunch, and we talked for three hours. It was just an incredible afternoon. We got along great, and at the end of it, he was like, ‘You know, someday I wanna work with you.’ I'm like, ‘You don't have to ask me twice. I'm in.’
Matthew Lillard, CinemaBlend
You know you’re getting along with someone if you can lock in for a three hour lunch, especially if you want to offer someone the chance to work with you at the end. But of course, such awesome events don’t always pan out. Schedules can get crazy, and through various flavors of “life gets in the way,” there were numerous opportunities for the universe to throw stumbling blocks between Matthew Lillard and his new friend.
That said, the turnaround time between this meeting and The Life of Chuck offer is impressive in terms of the chaos that is Hollywood. As Mr. Lillard proceeded to describe this eventual offer coming to fruition, the offer came in around the following timeline:
About a year later, six months later, he called me up and I was dropping my kid off at college, and he said, ‘Hey, I have a small part in this movie, a small movie if you're interested. Independently financed, very tiny. It's near and dear to my heart, but it's a small part. It’s not what I think of your abilities or your talent, and I don't want to insult you, and you don't have to take this part.’ And I was like,’You won't insult me. I'm a hundred percent in, and yes is the answer.’ So I ended up doing a one day of work on The Life of Chuck, which is his adaptation of the Stephen King novella.
Matthew Lillard, CinemaBlend
The concept of actors who appeared in one pivotal scene turning the axis of a movie isn’t new, and based on what Matthew Lillard had to say in his role for Mike Flanagan’s latest picture, that seems to be what we’re about to see. At least, that’s the impression I got when reading the details he shared exclusively with our sibling publication Total Film, which included the following:
I play the most rudimentary man ever named Gus. And he's beautiful. …the thing I love about my character is that he packs a whole fistful of humanity in a little 5-minute scene, and it’s work that I'm really proud of. But on top of it, I think it really shifts the movie into an emotional place. And so I'm excited for people to get to see Gus and live through that movie because I think the movie is sort of what the world needs in a lot of ways right now.
Matthew Lillard, GamesRadar+
Early praise for the film is already starting to buzz about, and there’s even been some talk about how good Matthew Lillard’s performance as Gus happens to be. As the Five Nights At Freddy’s actor continues on what’s been dubbed his career’s “renaissance moment,” the results have been pleasing for fans and critics alike.
After learning of Lillard’s Scooby Doo 2 worries, this result seems even sweeter to behold. So with all of this talk about the future in the air, I really do hope that this new friendship leads to a new addition to what I like to call the Mike Flanagan Repertory Company.
Matthew Lillard’s Hype For The Life Of Chuck Makes Me Hope He And Mike Flanagan Continue To Work Together
As if the first announcement of this project wasn’t enough to stoke the fires, our own Eric Eisenberg’s reaction to The Life of Chuck put some more weight on that side of the scale. Knowing that he’s our resident King Beat reporter, his is an opinion that only built me up even further in the wait for what’s being presumed to be a summer 2025 release for Neon.
So when Matthew Lillard offered this torrent of praise during our conversation, it seemed like a sign that I was putting my faith in the right place:
It was awesome. It was so great. We got along great. We had a blast. We spent the weekend hanging out, having dinner. It's everything you could possibly want as an actor on a set. And then it came time to do the job, the job went great. The movie's brilliant, it just won the Toronto International Film Festival. The last 12 films to win that award have gone on to be nominated for Academy Awards’ Best Picture. So it's very exciting for us. We just got purchased by Neon, so it comes out next year, which will be fun.
Matthew Lillard, CinemaBlend
Circling back to the theme of career renaissances, the work that’s apparently been done for The Life of Chuck appears to have given Matthew Lillard more room to stretch his talents. I’m actually curious to read the novella myself so I can dig more into why he’s been getting raves from people like co-star/fellow horror genre icon David Dastmalchian, which came in an interview with Gizmodo from earlier this year.
Naturally, that would depend on if the Thirteen Ghosts veteran would want to join up with Mr. Flanagan’s merry band of performers again. When I floated that very possibility in conversation, Matthew Lillard only had this to say:
One can only hope. … Listen, I am like, I stand at the ready. I hope that he considers me either way. I adore him as a human being. He is like one of my favorite people. So whatever happens, I'm lucky to have him as a friend.
Matthew Lillard, CinemaBlend
A future partnership with between Matthew Lillard and Mike Flanagan already sounds like a welcomed reteaming. And since the man himself has been known to play fictional characters who "always come back," I do hope his professional life reflects that promise - albeit in a much more pleasant way than that Five Nights At Freddy's reference would imply.
While I can’t speak to the quality of The Life of Chuck, I can definitely say that Lillard and Flanagan’s literary partnership is a winner! For those of you curious to get your hands on “Rare, Fine & Limited,” you’ll only be able to do so if you pre-order a bottle of Macabre Spirits' Rare, Fine & Limited Reposado Tequila. In the meantime, if you want to see where other upcoming Stephen King movies land on the road ahead, you can check out our guide laying out what’s to come in the near future.
