EXCLUSIVE: Tom Hiddleston (Thor franchise) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) are set to star in new Stephen King adaptation The Life Of Chuck, which will be a hot package at the upcoming Cannes market.

Doctor Sleep and The Haunting Of Hill House helmer Mike Flanagan is directing, scripting and producing for Intrepid Pictures alongside fellow producer Trevor Macy.

FilmNation will handle international sales with WME Independent handling domestic.

Based on the short story from King’s 2020 anthology If It Bleeds, The Life of Chuck is three separate stories linked to tell the biography of Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death from a brain tumour at 39 and ending with his childhood in a supposedly haunted house.

The script, which was adapted prior to the WGA strike, has been in the works for several months with Hiddleston set to play the title character and Hamill joining for the role of Albie.

According to the production, the genre project will draw tonally from Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.

EXCLUSIVE: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Rob Peace), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and Jacob Tremblay (The Toxic Avenger) have joined the cast of The Life of Chuck, the latest of many Stephen King adaptations from filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep), which kicked off production in Alabama under an interim agreement earlier this month. Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill lead the ensemble of the pic, written and directed by Flanagan, as we were first to tell you.

Also now involved is QWGmire, the production and financing entity known for the indie horror Agnes and the forthcoming Lovely, Dark and Deep, which has made a major equity investment in the independently financed feature.

Stated QWGmire partners Molly C. Quinn, Matthew M. Welty and Elan Gale, “We are thrilled to partner with Mike and Trevor [Macy] on this project. Mike is a master storyteller and we can’t wait to bring his inspirational adaptation of Stephen King’s short story to audiences.”

Based on three interconnected stories from King’s 2020 anthology If It Bleeds, The Life of Chuck examines the existence of its subject Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death aged 39 from a brain tumor and ending with his childhood in a house believed to be haunted. Flanagan is set to produce the feature adaptation alongside his long-time Intrepid Pictures partner, Macy. WME Independent is repping domestic sales, with FilmNation Entertainment overseeing the international front.

Mike Flanagan (Gerald’s Game, Doctor Sleep) is headed back into the world of Stephen King with The Life of Chuck, and Flanagan has announced the full cast today.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Rob Peace), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Jacob Tremblay (The Toxic Avenger), Tom Hiddleston (Crimson Peak) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) had already been announced for the upcoming Stephen King adaptation, and a thread from Flanagan on Twitter this afternoon reveals that Matthew Lillard (Five Nights at Freddy’s) and Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street) will also star.

The full cast also features fresh faces and returning Mike Flanagan regulars including…

Mia Sara, Benjamin Pajak, Trinity Jo-li Bliss, Q’Orianka Kilcher, Antonio Raul Corbo, Harvey Guillen, David Dastmalchian, Kate Siegel, Carl Lumbly, Annalise Basso, Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, Matt Biedel, Sauriyan Sapkota, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Michael Trucco, Violet McGraw and Molly C. Quinn.

Flanagan tweets, “The Life of Chuck is a very personal story for me, and a movie I am so grateful will be in the world. We’ll keep you posted with more updates as they come.”

“Based on the short story from King’s 2020 anthology If It Bleeds, The Life of Chuck is three separate stories linked to tell the biography of Charles Krantz in reverse, beginning with his death from a brain tumor at 39 and ending with his childhood in a supposedly haunted house.”

Deadline details, “According to the production, the genre project will draw tonally from Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.”

Flanagan will also write the script and produce through Intrepid Pictures.

“The Life of Chuck” is closing a distribution deal with Neon after winning Toronto Film Festival’s prestigious people’s choice award.

TIFF’s audience prize has historically been a reliable predictors of eventual Oscar success. It’s unclear if that’ll be the case this year, though “The Life of Chuck” has received largely positive reviews. The film will likely be released in the summer of 2025, with an awards push in the fall. Terms of the deal, which has not been finalized, weren’t immediately available. A spokesperson for Neon declined to comment.

And now, with Mike Flanagan’s stellar The Life of Chuck, we have another adaptation that immediately contends for being crowned the best King-originated film ever made.
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