Stephen King The Shining: Will there be a prequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining?

The Shining is a film with some controversies, famously between the filmmaker and the author. Stephen King was known for disliking The Shining, which made filmmakers more apprehensive when they adapted The Shining follow-up, Doctor Sleep. But with a prequel having been in the news some time ago, will that ever happen?

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Back in 2014, Variety reported Warner Bros were busy making a sequel to The Shining, with director Mark Romanek in talks to helm the movie.

The film was to be based on a prologue which King wrote for the 1977 book The Shining, but decided to scrap.

In the prologue, King described some of the origins of the Overlook Hotel, and how things got to where they did by the time Jack Torrance arrives with his family.

The film which was in development was to be set at the turn of the 20th century, focusing on robber baron Bob T Watson, who ventured through the Colorado Rockies and built the Overlook Hotel.

Will there be a prequel to The Shining?

Will there be a prequel to The Shining? (Image: Warner Bros)

However, in an interview with Collider, Romanek described how his hopes of the prequel movie to The Shining may have been dashed.

Asked whether the prequel project had “gone away now,” he said: “It seems so. I mean, it’s a great script I think, it was based on a prologue to the novel that Stephen King wrote and then that prologue was cut for length…

“The problem is it’s really expensive, it kind of reads like The Revenant or Heaven’s Gate or something and I think they wanted to try Doctor Sleep to see if.. My impression is they wanted to see if there was this sort of Shining universe that would have financial life through them, or artistic life with the audience.

“And I think Doctor Sleep did just sort of okay, and given that our script is so costly, it’s a little dead in the water right now. But you never know, it’s a weird business. It’s a very good script. I’m proud of the script.”

Shelley Duvall in The Shining

Shelley Duvall in The Shining (Image: Warner Bros)

The Shining was meant to have a prequel about the hotel

The Shining was meant to have a prequel about the hotel (Image: Warner Bros)

It turns out the success of The Overlook Hotel hinged on Doctor Sleep, which sadly did not bring in the interest many were hoping for.

Doctor Sleep made £58.2million from a budget of £36.2million after a slightly lacklustre opening weekend.

Ultimately, the movie did make a profit, but by no means a huge amount given the effort which went into making the film.

Similarly, the reviews were not universal in their praise and were far more mixed.

Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep

Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep (Image: Warner Bros)

Kevin Maher of The Times said: “By the time the nude old lady from The Shining appears on the fourth and final occasion in this earnest, uneven and hopelessly derivative sequel, you’ll want get her a towel, a cuppa and a pair of slippers.”

However, in contrast, Empire magazine’s Chris Hewitt said: “Anyone expecting a straightforward Shining sequel will be disappointed.

“This isn’t a gruelling exercise in pure horror. It’s odder and more contemplative, but worth checking in.”

Of course, The Overlook Hotel, however “Revenant-like” it may be, would not need to have the whole hotel rebuilt, as this was done for Doctor Sleep and is waiting to be used again.

However, it seems that, at least for now, Stephen King fans will have to wait for a different adaptation to come their way.

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