An adaptation of one of the stories featured in Stephen King‘s recent four-novella collection If It Bleeds (2020), the feature film Mr. Harrigan’s Phone has received an official premiere date from Netflix this morning. Part of the streaming service’s Fall 2022 slate, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone will be ringing its way onto Netflix on Wednesday, October 5, 2022.
King recently tweeted, “I have seen a close-to-finished cut of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and it’s nothing short of brilliant.”
The upcoming movie comes from “American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy and Blumhouse, with John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) writing and directing.
In Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, “When Craig, a young boy living in a small town (Jaeden Martell) befriends Mr. Harrigan, an older, reclusive billionaire (Donald Sutherland), the two begin to form an unlikely bond over their love of books and reading. But when Mr. Harrigan sadly passes away, Craig discovers that not everything is dead and gone and strangely finds himself able to communicate with his friend from the grave through the iPhone in this supernatural coming-of-age story that shows that certain connections are never lost.”
And as we learned more recently, Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“Barry,” “Killing Eve”) has joined the cast. “Howell-Baptiste will play Craig’s caring and concerned teacher, Ms. Hart.”
Joe Tippett, Cyrus Arnold, Colin O’Brien, Thomas Francis Murphy, and Peggy J. Scott also star.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is rated “PG-13” for “thematical material, some strong language, violent content, and brief drug material.”
Below, you can learn all about the original story by tuning into The Losers’ Club book episode on If It Bleeds. Our very own Stephen King podcast covered the collection upon its release in 2020.