Stephen King has been a popular author for years, but 2017 was an especially good year when it came to adaptations of his works (The Dark Tower notwithstanding). IT in particular captivated audiences, to the point that other studios have been racing to get their own King-related movies off the ground. One of the upcoming King stories that's getting the big screen treatment is Doctor Sleep, the sequel to his iconic novel, The Shining, with the 1980 film adaptation being directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Ewan McGregor boarded the Doctor Sleep movie two weeks ago, and now Mission: Impossible - Fallout star Rebecca Ferguson has been cast as the female lead.
Although Variety's initial report didn't reveal any details about Rebecca Ferguson's role in Doctor Sleep, writer Justin Kroll later revealed that she would be playing Rose the Hat, leader of the True Knot group. Ferguson joins Ewan McGregor, who will play an older Danny Torrance, who was portrayed as a lad by Danny Lloyd in The Shining movie. Ferguson is arguably best known for playing Ilsa Faust in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, who she'll reprise for Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and her other notable credits include The Girl on the Train, The Snowman and The Greatest Showman.
Set decades after the events at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining, Doctor Sleep follows an adult Danny Torrance, who, after years of battling his inner demons, handling his rage and drinking heavily to dull his special powers, has embraced sobriety and uses his abilities to comfort dying patients. That's how he gets the nickname Doctor Sleep. While performing these duties, Danny meets a young girl named Abra who has special powers of her own. Unfortunately for Abra, one night she witnesses members of True Knot killing a boy for a ritual. Learning of Abra's existence, Rose the Hat attempts to kidnap the girl, believing she can provide her and her cohorts a limitless supply of "steam," the psychic essence emitted by people with the shining when they die painfully.
A Doctor Sleep movie has been in development since 2016, and following the success of IT, Warner Bros tapped Mike Flanagan, who has previous experience with Stephen King by helming Netflix's Gerald's Game, was tapped to direct. Flanagan's producing partner, Trevor Macy, will produce alongside Vertigo Entertainment's Jon Berg. Warner Bros also has an Overlook Hotel prequel in development, but it remains to be seen when that project will move forward.
Doctor Sleep doesn't have a release date assigned yet, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for that information and other updates as they come in. For now, look through our 2018 release schedule to learn what movies are coming out later this year.
