MGM+’s new Stephen King adaptation,The Institute, focuses on a common theme from the author’s extensive body of work, highlighting how a cancelled sequel to one of his most iconic stories could still work. Not all Stephen King sci-fi adaptations have been received well by critics and audiences alike, butThe Institute’s warm responsesgive agreat blueprint for how similar shows could follow suit.
Themain characters inThe Instituteare psychic-powered children and teens living in a secret facility where they’re unethically experimented on and tortured. It’s a familiar premise for King’s youth-centered works, withsupernaturally gifted kids from stories likeFirestarterandDoctor Sleepalso being targeted and abused for their powers. The latter, in fact, nearly continued with another movie focusing on Shining-able teens, butMike Flanagan’sDoctor Sleepsequeldisappointingly never moved forward.
The Institute’s Success Highlights How A Doctor Sleep Spinoff Show About Abra Could Still Work
Abra Is Part Of Another Group Of Teens With Supernatural Abilities
WithThe Institute’s focus onpsionic-powered Luke Ellisbeing a success for MGM, a series about one of Stephen King’s other powerful teens has a similar chance of working. In 2019, horror masterMike Flanagan adapted King’s book sequel toThe Shining,Doctor Sleep, into a filmfor Warner Bros. WhileDoctor Sleepreceived critical acclaim, the movie sadly failed to become a box office hit, only earning $72 million against an estimated $45 million budget.
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Carrie
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WhenDoctor Sleepfirst arrived, Flanagan had plans to expand the franchise further. There have been varying reports about whatDoctor Sleep 2’s storywould have entailed, either being a prequel focused on Dick Halloran or a continuation of the journey of teen Abra Stone, who was still learning to hone her Shining ability with guidance from an adult Danny Torrance.
Unfortunately, any plans for asequel (orThe Shiningprequel) afterDoctor Sleepwere quickly scrapped, despite plenty of story potential for Abra Stone. However, now that shows likeThe Institutehave proven how adaptations of Stephen King’s stories about psychic-powered kids can work on the TV format,now is the perfect time to potentially revisit the world ofDoctor Sleep.
Rather than a film centered on Abra,a continuation of her story may be better suited for television. Of course, Mike Flanagan is no stranger to this format, with some of his greatest masterpieces in the horror genre, such asThe Haunting of Hill HouseandMidnight Mass, being miniseries. If Flanagan were to pick up with Abra and her fellow Shiners’ stories again, a TV series would be the best way to explore them.
However, since Stephen King himself hasn’t written a follow-up toDoctor Sleep, it’s unclear exactly what a spinoff about Abra would entail. At the same time, without additional source material,Flanagan or another director would have plenty more creative freedom to explore the stories of teenagers with the Shining abilityand how they could contact and forge a community with one another.
We know fromDoctor Sleepthatcults like the True Knotseek out children with the ability to Shine and harvest their powers, so it’s likely there aremore sinister forces and organizations who may attempt to band these teens together to abuse their abilities. If so, a series about Abra Stone could look quite similar toThe Institute, though with spirits like Dan Torrance helping to guide the teens along the way.
Why Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep Sequel Was Scrapped
Doctor Sleep Didn’t Become A Box Office Hit
Sadly, the reason forDoctor Sleep 2failing to move forward is a common fate many developing sequels face. According to Mike Flanagan himself,the reason a sequel or spinoff didn’t happen is because ofDoctor Sleep’s underwhelming box officeperformance:
On Monday they evaluated the box office performance and by Tuesday those (spinoffs) were dead. I understood why they couldn’t proceed on those with the box office that we did. It made sense. It was heartbreaking. It made sense. But yeah, that’s all kind of gone.
The general rule of thumb is that a movie needs to earn about 2 or 2.5 times its production budget to be a success. However,Doctor Sleepfell short by only earning back about 1.6 times its budget, based onreported numbers of an estimated $45 million budget and a $72 million box office return(viaBox Office Mojo). As such, Warner Bros. didn’t see expanding onDoctor Sleepas a key investment opportunity.
That said, it’s been nearly six years sinceDoctor Sleepwas released in theaters, andthe film has received a deeper appreciation in that subsequent time. With newStephen King adaptationstaking over the TV slate through shows likeThe Institute,IT: Welcome to Derry, andCarrie, it would be the perfect time to jump on that trend with a return to Abra Stone’s story.
Mike Flanagan Is Already Making A TV Show About One Of Stephen King’s Most Famous Psychic Teens
Flanagan Adapts Another Stephen King Story About A Powerful Teen
As fantastic as it would be to see Mike Flanagan expand on his already-masterful take on the world ofThe Shining, the filmmaker is busy tackling some of Stephen King’s other iconic stories. Currently,Mike Flanagan is filming his TV adaptation ofCarrie, withCarrie White being another King-created teen with strong, dangerous psychic abilities.
The series marks the firstMike Flanagan horror showsince concluding his tenure with Netflix, which ended withThe Fall of the House of Usherin 2023. Subsequently, Flanagan forged an exclusive TV production deal with Amazon, withCarriebeing his first entry for Prime Video.
Flanagan is responsible for some of the most anticipated upcoming King-based series.
The director also has a TV adaptation of Stephen King’sThe Dark Towernovels in the works, so Flanagan is responsible for some of the most anticipated upcoming King-based series. Even if he doesn’t end up making an Abra Stone spinoff similar toThe Institute,Flanagan’sCarrieandThe Dark Toweradaptationscontinue its trend of King shows about psychic-powered kids.
