Yesterday, writer/director Mike Flanagan provided the world with the first look at his latest film, the Stephen King adaptation Doctor Sleep. With a now adult Danny Torrance navigating the power of “The Shine," and the very specter of alcoholism that haunted his own father, it’s up to the young man who survived The Overlook Hotel to save a band of children from some unsavory types.
Among those providing some interesting reactions to what’s been shown from Doctor Sleep’s impressive looking final product is none other than Danny Lloyd, the actor who played the younger version of Danny Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Knowing full well the history of Stephen King’s reaction to the Kubrick interpretation of his landmark story, Lloyd had the following reaction to the trailer:
I was surprised. ... It looked really good. I was curious, since there is a fine line they have to walk with Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick. It looks like they found a way to pay tribute to both.
With a rather complicated history behind Stephen King’s original, more emotionally charged novel and Stanley Kubrick’s chilling, more supernatural version of that same story in play, it’s already been acknowledged that making Doctor Sleep into a movie would need to balance paying homage to both versions in order to even exist. So Danny Lloyd’s remark commenting on how the film has already started to tread those waters quite successfully is encouraging for fans of both The Shining’s novel and film versions.
Funny enough, as Danny Lloyd spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, the current professor of biology actually doesn’t go throwing about his credentials as the young man who acted alongside Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in a Stanley Kubrick classic. Though that hasn’t stopped his children from discovering his work in the film.
As it turns out, The Shining hasn’t been known as a frightening family ritual in the Lloyd household, but rather as the following source of humor:
When it was on Netflix, my kids were watching it and making fun of my haircut.
With his own personal connection to The Shining, it’s obviously a question as to whether or not Danny Lloyd approves of Ewan McGregor’s casting as the adult version of Danny Torrance. It’s not every day that someone sees themselves grow up to look like a former Jedi Knight on the big screen, and for all anyone knew, Lloyd may not have approved of the prospect.
That isn’t the case with Danny Lloyd, though. Not only does he approve of Ewan McGregor’s Danny so far, he looks forward to him shining in this particular role. As for whether he’ll see Doctor Sleep or not, Lloyd put it all out there with a simple statement:
I'd like to see it right when it comes out.
Even with his eager attitude about seeing Doctor Sleep in an actual movie theater, Danny Lloyd won’t be seeing himself on the big screen. With the exception of the scene involving the elevators of the Overlook Hotel gushing blood, all of the flashback material pertaining to The Shining has been reshot with new actors.
As such, Danny Lloyd’s Danny Torrance has been swapped for young actor Roger Dale Floyd, as you’ll see in the side-by-side comparison Mike Flanagan provided for fans below:
That probably won’t stop Danny Lloyd’s children from mocking his memorable hairstyle, as that’s very much intact with the young actor who’s taken on the mantle of Danny’s younger form in Doctor Sleep. So at least that particular family tradition will stand tried and true, in the face of this rather unique sequel.
Doctor Sleep will shine in the darkness of your local theater on November 8th.
