Whether it be The Shining, The Green Mile, The Stand, or IT, everyone has a favorite Stephen King story. Rarely has an author delivered so many veritable masterpieces, that it would take less time counting the disappointing narratives than choosing which one is the best.
One undeniably exciting component of all of his books, though, is the ways in which he manages to find ways to connect them through references and Easter eggs. In this regard, there’s arguably no more important narrative in his catalogue than The Dark Tower. A compelling journey in its own right, courtesy of King weaving together themes of fantasy, Western, and the supernatural, it features in-world connections to dozens of King stories, with the titular tower both literally and figuratively connecting the author’s disparate characters.
In Mike Flanagan‘s new reboot of Carrie for Prime Video, he found ways to honor The Dark Tower. In a new interview with TV Insider, the showrunner offered more insight into those connections.
“The beautiful thing about Stephen King is that the connections between the universe that he’s built are some of the most fun, as lovers of Stephen King, that you get to make those connections,” the filmmaker revealed. “I do think this all exists on a certain level of the Tower, and Carrie’s place in that bigger world is something he hints at very much in the book. It was really exciting for us to be able to do that in practice and to really go into that.”
What’s worth noting, however, is that King’s original Carrie novel predates any installments of his Dark Tower series, meaning his debut novel is devoid of overt connections to the fantasy realm. Still, Flanagan’s creative take on the source material, specifically in how Carrie White has telekinetic abilities that resemble those found in other corners of King’s lore, leans heavily into the shared universe aspect of the author’s stories.
It’s also worth pointing out that, while Flanagan is quite busy, he is also attached to an adaptation of The Dark Tower, which means he can use his Carrie as an entry point to that sprawling narrative. Funny enough, Carrie stars Samantha Sloyan and Summer H. Howell have already weighed in on their hopes for joining Flanagan’s Dark Tower.
“Maybe some of the stuff in the plate throwers, maybe there’s some more in that [for me],” Sloyan shared with Bloody Disgusting. “That’s one of the fun things about Mike, is sometimes he hears your voice in a character that you would have never expected for yourself. So I’d be really interested to know what he heard me as.”
Howell, meanwhile, already feels honored to get to play Carrie White, as she admitted, “I am about to finish the first book of the whole Dark Tower series, so I don’t know yet. I feel greedy trying to pick another character. I’m already Carrie and I’m very happy with that, so I don’t know. I just want to be along for the ride, even if I’m watching you all do it.”
Carrie is now streaming on Prime Video.
