The only line of dialogue in the trailer for Castle Rock is “You have no idea what’s happening here, do you?” and that’s about the best way to describe this first teaser. Wait, was that Shawshank Prison? A make-up free Pennywise (aka Bill Skarsgård)?
Produced by J.J Abrams, Castle Rock’s official logline is perhaps the best way to explain the series that “combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. Got that?
Effectively, a number of characters and storylines from King’s rich history of work will overlap in what nobody is calling The Avengers of Stephen King adaptations. Before you start thinking about the prospect of seeing Red fight It, or Annie Wilkes hobble Dolores Claiborne, Castle Rock is more like Once Upon A Time in as much the setting is a place these characters happen to live. Congratulations if you understood any of that because I didn’t.
Starring Melanie Lynskey, André Holland, Jane Levy, Bill Skarsgård, Scott Glenn, Terry O’Quinn, and the original Carrie Sissy Spacek. Speaking at the New York Comic-Con, Spacek said this about her role;
“I was afraid I might never have the opportunity to do something this twisted again. It’s kind of an homage to Stephen King — and I owe Stephen King a lot.”
Castle Rock isn’t the first time that Abrams has brought King’s work to Hulu, last year Abrams helped bring 11/22/63 (or 22/11/63 for us Brits) to life with James Franco in the leading role. A great series only slightly spoiled by the versatile Franco being somewhat miscast. There’s no fixed release date for Castle Rock, and frustratingly, just like Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, UK fans will have to wait even longer as Hulu isn’t available outside of America.
Here’s the full synopsis;
A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock has figured prominently in King’s literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption are either set there or contain references to Castle Rock. Castle Rock is an original suspense/thriller — a first-of-its-kind reimagining that explores the themes and worlds uniting the entire King canon, while brushing up against some of his most iconic and beloved stories.
