Stephen King Was Skeptical of the New Spooky ‘Carrie’ Reboot but Changed His Mind: ‘The Beauty of Not Being Beholden to the Book’
Prime Video’s new 'Carrie' series brings Stephen King’s chilling story into the digital age
Key Takeaways
- Stephen King gave his blessing to a modern, multi-episode TV adaptation of 'Carrie.'
- Prime Video’s spooky reboot features high school drama, social media and viral scandals.
- Matthew Lillard, 56, joins an all-star cast including Summer H. Howell and Samantha Sloyan.
In 1976, the famed film adaptation of Stephen King’s horror novel Carrie became a cult classic, and Sissy Spacek’s performance as tormented teen Carrie White went down in horror history. Years later, the story was adapted into yet another movie starring Chloë Grace Moretz as the title character, with Julianne Moore playing the part of her mom. Now, just in time for spooky season, Prime Video is giving King’s story the TV treatment, with a modern reimagining of the tale premiering on the streamer on October 7. Here, read all there is to know about Carrie.
How Mike Flanagan convinced Stephen King to reimagine ‘Carrie’
When it comes to reimagining the classics, fans of the originals can be hard to impress—but knowing Mike Flanagan is behind this project should bring some comfort to viewers at home. Over the last several years, Flanagan has proved his skill within the horror genre, serving as the mastermind behind projects such as The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), Doctor Sleep (2019) and more. Now, he’s offering a new, more modern approach to the tale of Carrie White.
Though Stephen King himself was a bit skeptical at first, Flanagan managed to convince the original author that his story was in good hands by expressing that he planned on taking it in a different direction. During San Diego Comic-Con, People reported that Flanagan’s approach was to break the story down to its parts and create something new. In a separate conversation with Entertainment Weekly, he even discussed taking the story beyond its planned eight episodes.
“The beauty of not really being beholden to the book or to any of the previous adaptations is that the potential of the characters and of the greater world that she belongs to does allow to look at it not as a finite story,” he shared. “I don’t speculate as to what it could be or what Amazon may want to do with it down the line. My priority is to make these eight episodes as great as I can from start to finish.”
Modern plot twists: social media, cyberbullying and telekinesis
Like the original, Carrie will center on Carrie White, though this time around, her story is set against the backdrop of the modern age. Having been isolated at home throughout her life, the passing of her father launches her into the stratosphere of public high school, where she is soon subject to relentless bullying and a viral scandal aided by social media. All the while, her mysterious telekinetic powers are gradually revealing themselves, making for an agonizing transition into the real world.
Meet the ‘Carrie’ 2026 cast: Summer H. Howell and Matthew Lillard
While folks can’t expect to see any familiar faces from the 1976 film, the new adaptation promises impressive performances from newcomer Summer H. Howell as Carrie and Samantha Sloyan as her mother, Margaret. Matthew Lillard also joins the cast, as well as Siena Agudong, Joel Oulette, Alison Thornton, Josie Totah, Thalia Dudek, Arthur Conti and Amber Midthunder.
Tune in on October 7 on Prime Video and see how Carrie’s story unfolds in the modern age.
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