It’s been over a year since we’ve heard anything about the worrying news of Warner Bros.‘ plans to make "The Overlook Hotel," a prequel to "The Shining." Some of our fears were allayed by the hiring of Mark Romanek to direct, however, there is still something troubling about creating a movie that — unofficially or not — will even glance upon the greatness of Stanley Kubrick‘s horror masterpiece. However, according to producer James Vanderbilt (also the writer behind "Zodiac," and the writer/director of the upcoming "Truth"), this won’t just be a movie that explores the younger iterations of the characters you already know.
"Honestly, I think people will really be excited about it, because it’s not like ’20 Years Before The Shining!’ I don’t want to give too much away about the story but the way [screenwriter] Glen [Mazzara] cracked it and the way Mark [Romanek] has sort of cracked it, it’s completely it’s own film, which I think is super smart. It’s not like, ‘When Scatman Crothers was young, he…’ it’s not that,” he told Collider.
Indeed, the movie will be based on "Before The Play," an excised prologue to Stephen King‘s original novel which centers around a robber baron named Bob T. Watson who founds The Overlook Hotel with his family at the beginning of the 20th century. King and his editor had decided to remove the prologue (and epilogue, titled "After The Play") from "The Shining" because they were unnecessary, and it would have brought the page count and cost of the book down. "Before The Play" did see publication in Whispers magazine and in an edited version in TV Guide, and it can be read in full right here. Essentially, the story explains the troubling origins of The Overlook Hotel, which is certainly a different way to go.
No word yet on when production will begin, but what do you think? Does an origin story of The Overlook Hotel send a chill up your spine? Let us know below.
God please just make this before Mark Romanek exits yet another film. I\’m selfish and I want there to be 12 Mark Romanek films in the world, not 3.
Any writer of Zodiac had the benefit of my doubt