Doctor Sleep: The Shining Sequel Trailer, Release Date, Cast, Story, and News

Stephen King greenlit a sequel to The Shining, both his novel and the Stanley Kubrick film. Here's what you need to know about Doctor Sleep.

Warner Brothers’ adaptation of Stephen King‘s sequel to The ShiningDoctor Sleep, is happening. The sequel is directed by horror auteur Mike Flanagan, who helmed Oculus and Gerald’s Game, and who recently directed one of Netflix’s very best films, Gerald’s Game, which itself was a King adaptation.

Doctor Sleep first arrived in 2013 as a novel by King, 36 years after the publication of The Shining, and stars Danny Torrance, who is still coping with the aftermath of what happened so many years ago at the Overlook Hotel. Like his father, Dan struggles with alcoholism and anger management, but eventually gives up drinking and settles down in New Hampshire.

He develops a psychic link with a 12-year-old girl named Abra Stone, who is even stronger in “the shining” than he is. Over the course of the novel, Dan discovers that Abra is being hunted by a tribe of psychic vampires who want to feed off of her lifeforce, and it’s up to him to protect her. Here’s everything you need to know about the movie:

In the latest news on Doctor Sleep, fans worried that Warner was planning a toned-down horror sequel should be relieved, since director Mike Flanagan has just revealed that the MPAA has given the film an R rating.

Doctor Sleep Trailer

The (presumably final) full Doctor Sleep trailer is here. You didn’t think that The Shining sequel wouldn’t take a return trip to the Overlook Hotel, did you?

The first trailer for Doctor Sleep is here!

Doctor Sleep Release Date

Doctor Sleep is set to arrive in theaters on Nov. 8, 2019.

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Doctor Sleep Story

Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of Warner Bros.

Doctor Sleep continues the story of Danny Torrance, 40 years after his terrifying stay at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson and newcomer Kyliegh Curran star in the supernatural thriller, directed by Mike Flanagan, from his own screenplay based upon the novel by Stephen King.

Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.

Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before—at once facing his fears and reawakening the ghosts of the past.

Doctor Sleep Cast and Characters

Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting) is playing the adult Danny Torrance.

Kyliegh Curran has the crucial role of Abra Stone.

read more: The Must See Movies of 2019

Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) is Rose the Hat, leader of the True Knot cult that has designs to feed off the psychic “steam” of Abra.

Zahn McClarnon will play Crow Daddy, the right-hand man to Ferguson’s character.

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Emily Alyn Lind is Snakebite Andi, another member of True Knot. 

Bruce Greenwood is Dr. John Dalton, Abra’s family doctor. 

read more: Every Stephen King Movie and TV Series in Development

Carl Lumbly will play Dick Hallorann, the Overlook Hotel cook first introduced in The Shining. He also has the mysterious power known as “the shining.”

Alex Essoe has been cast as Wendy Torrance, Danny’s mother, who was originally played by the incredible Shelley Duvall in the Kubrick movie. 

Jocelin Donahue has been cast in a mystery role. Jacob Tremblay (Room) has a mystery role, according to TMZ. It is speculated that he may be playing a young Danny Torrance during flashbacks to Danny’s childhood. 

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John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9