Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep” had its first footage unveiled at CinemaCon on Tuesday, and the links to “The Shining” are strong.
While details are still being kept under wraps, the sneak peek did show Danny Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, still struggling with the trauma stemming from the events of his childhood. And as he stumbles in the dark, he looks in the mirror and sees an ominous vision: “REDRUM,” the backwards version of “MURDER” that he muttered as a child and which was painted on the walls of the Overlook Hotel all those years ago.
“As a child he went through a terrible experience, and he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to deal with this Shine,” said McGregor in a featurette, referring to Danny’s supernatural ability to telepathically communicate.
The footage also showed Danny touching palms with what looked like to be Abra Stone. Fans familiar with the books know that both Abra and Danny have special abilities, ones that become crucial in taking on the True Knot, a child-killing group that is led by Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). We also saw Rose the Hat walking on the roof of what seems to be her trailer, and other members of the True Knot in presumably a junk yard, hunting down their prey.
The ominous theme from “The Shining” was also featured in the sneak peek, adding another hint that the upcoming film will make many allusions to King’s most famous novel and Stanley Kubrick’s terrifying classic.
In the sequel to “The Shining,” Danny Torrance is in his 40s when he encounters the same demons his father did in the previous book and subsequent film adaptation. King published “Doctor Sleep” in 2013 as a sequel to his 1977 bestseller “The Shining.”
“Doctor Sleep” will hit theaters November 8.