Mike Flanagan did it again. He made an awesome adaptation of a Stephen King story… and I want more.
I just re-watched Brian de Palma’s adaptation a few days ago in prep for this new iteration of Carrie. That original adaptation is still solid in its own right, but what we get in this new series is infinitely deeper, more nuanced, and just as true to the important aspects of the story itself.
At it’s heart, Carrie is a story about power, abuse, and kindness. Where de Palma’s version cranked all the abuse up to 11 (to the point where some of it was near-cartoonish by the standards of the time), Flanagan keeps it all much more grounded and very true to current times. Flanagan also accentuates the moments of kindness–especially those “perpetrated” by Carrie and Sue Snell.
That additional dose of kindness, especially with the extra time to explore how the other characters try and fail to be their best selves, really takes Flanagan’s adaptation to a new level. One that is bother horrifying and inspiring in equal measures.
It also gives a much wider world where strange things happen and where there are people who know about them and try to influence them in various ways. Something that is key to a number of King stories that came long after Carrie was published. This brings the story into much closer contact with the more modern King shared universe of the Dark Tower mythos.
The fact that the writing is solid and coherent–and executed by numerous writers, not just Flanagan himself–is important. Equally important is the strength of the direction in the episodes (again, a job spread among more than just Flanagan, putting this ahead of some pure “auteur” series we’ve gotten in recent years, including a number of Flanagan’s own). That all lets the amazing performances from all the players shine through.
And shine the cast does.
Summer H. Howell as Carrie runs the gamut from amazingly sweet and naive to cold and terrifying better than anyone else who’s played the part has had a chance to. This series’ Margaret White, Samantha Sloyan, gets a lot more range to explore than the character was given in de Palma’s version… even letting us feel a little sympathy for her along the way (but never, ever, excusing her actions of choices). And the same can be said for Alison Thornton’s Chris Hargensen, who has so many moments where she could choose to be a better person, but never does.
This iteration also answers some questions that the original film always left people with. “Little” things like “How did Carrie make it that far in high school like that?” or “How old is she, exactly?” It also makes it very clear that Sue Snell and Tommy really did care and were willing to do the right thing. (And we get a Billy Nolan who is, definitively, a truly vile individual, not just a dumb, abusive, bro.)
Flanagan has definitely kept this game on point. His name’s also attached to the DCU Clayface film coming out (which is looking distinctly body horror) and next year’s Exorcist: Martyrs (which just dropped its first trailer this past week and looks great). Even with all that on the horizon, I really want to see more King adaptations from him. Particularly based on how this series ended.
Really, I want Firestarter next from him. And I want him to work with the Muschiettis to bring us a solid Dark Tower universe of things. Because between their work on the IT franchise and what Flanagan has already done in this adaptation and his others, we’ve got a solid set of groundwork already in place.
Here There Be Spoilers and Speculation
By the time this series ends–and does so in a divergent way from what we’re used to–we’re left with a handful of unanswered questions that hint at a much larger world than we’ve ever gotten from a Carrie adaptation.
We know that Kate Siegel’s Adelaide character is part of a larger organization that’s been collecting girls with powers. We know that Katee Sackhoff’s Amanda (who is 100% Emaline’s mother) is also a part of an organization that hunts down girls (or maybe people in general) with powers. There’s some question about whether Emaline (played with some very interesting aspects by Thalia Dudek) is part of an organization or just pulling together a group to oppose both of those other factions.
Is one of those factions The Shop (from Firestarter)? Is another related to TransCorp (from a few other references in the Dark Tower connected things… ultimately connected to very bad people)? It’s obvious neither of those factions has any qualms about killing people, including civilians and children… so I doubt any of them (including whatever Emaline is part of) could be considered “the good guys”… which means there’s space for Tet Corporation (or some sub-set of the actual good team from the Dark Tower stuff) to get involved in the future.
Even without fully integrating all of King’s wide-ranging web of connections, there are some very interesting possibilities for a second season of this show. There’s bound to be conflict between Carrie and Emaline–because it’s very clear that Carrie actually wants to be good and kind and Emaline… does not. But there are also people chasing them… and more people out there with various abilities.
If this was a more classic network series setup, the second season feel could definitely be more Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, and A-Team, flavored. Some town-by town episodic action with an underlying chase narrative going on. Probably culminating in a more modern gathering at the end of all the people with powers helped along the way.
Or maybe there’s already some other plan that hasn’t leaked out yet that will be even ore awesome than anything in my head. Flanagan and others have definitely been able to deliver that in the past.
Either way, I’m ready and willing to check out whatever comes next. And equally willing to catch any of the stars of this series in anything else they do.
- V/H/S/Mixtape – October 10, 2026
- Carrie (2026 Series) – October 10, 2026
- Good Boy – October 8, 2026
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