Stephen King, J.J. Abrams Tease Secret Project ‘Castle Rock’
Stephen King and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions have teased the impending arrival of a secret new Hulu project titled Castle Rock, named after the fictional Maine town that serves as the setting of many of the author’s stories.
“JJ Abrams and I want to invite you to take a trip to Castle Rock. Soon. Be afraid,” King warned on Twitter after the minute-long teaser was revealed.
The video that accompanied the unveiling lists the names of many of the characters, places and creatures that lurked in and around Castle Rock – Shawshank State Prison, It‘s Pennywise, ‘Salem’s Lot‘s Marsten House and Needful Things‘ Brian Rusk – as well as King creations far removed from the Maine town, like Misery‘s Annie Wilkes, The Shining‘s Danny Torrance and John Coffey and Mr. Jingles from The Green Mile.
Each character and place is connected by pulsing veins, suggesting that whatever Castle Rock is, the project has created a universe where the King stories are happening simultaneously. In a statement, Hulu describes the series as “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 Hollywood Reporter speculates that Castle Rock will be an anthology series where “each season will follow a different set of character and story lines while interjecting themes and specific characters from previous seasons,” like how Fargo mines the Coen Brothers’ cinematic universe.
No premiere date for Castle Rock has been announced. 2017 is shaping up to be a busy year for big- and small-screen adaptations of King’s work, with The Dark Tower and an It remake among the projects joining Castle Rock on the horizon.
In addition to the trailer, Bad Robot tweeted a question, “What is the hoax in the forest?”
— Bad Robot (@bad_robot) February 18, 2017