Prime Video unveils first trailer for Mike Flanagan's 'Carrie', sets October 7 premiere
San Diego, July 26
Prime Video has unveiled the first teaser trailer for its upcoming series 'Carrie', while announcing that the Stephen King adaptation will premiere on October 7, Deadline reported.
The announcement was made during Prime Video's panel at San Diego Comic-Con, where creator Mike Flanagan described the eight-episode series as a contemporary take on King's 1974 novel, exploring the challenges faced by teenagers in the age of social media.
Check out the trailer
"Here's the thing," Flanagan said. "Carrie was written half a century ago. 'Carrie' was adapted spectacularly by Brian De Palma. It is iconic. It is untouchable. There is no reason whatsoever to try to follow in those footsteps and to try to walk on that path. However, the world has changed quite a lot."
Flanagan said the series examines issues such as online bullying, mental health and the pressures of modern high school. To better understand the experiences of today's teenagers, he invited high school students into the writers' room to share their personal stories.
"They shared shocking one-off situations or constant treatment and microaggressions and things that are not necessarily present themselves as targeted harassment. We will dive into the cruelty in today's world and how the internet has encouraged cruelty, rewards and celebrates and amplifies it. This is awful for adults to deal with, and for teenagers even more so," he said, as quoted by Deadline.
The teaser trailer features Carrie White navigating traumatic experiences at school, including bullying, a viral scandal and her infamous prom night, before revealing the awakening of her telekinetic powers.
The series stars Summer Howell as Carrie White, a socially isolated teenager raised by her deeply religious mother Margaret, played by Samantha Sloyan. Following her father's sudden death, Carrie is thrust into public high school, where she struggles with relentless bullying and discovers her supernatural abilities, Deadline reported.
Howell, who was selected for the role after more than a thousand auditions, said her version of Carrie begins her journey with hope.
"It's funny because it feels like Carrie, my Carrie, goes into this very open and excited for the world, and she wants to make friends and go to school and meet people. She's never experienced people besides her mom and her dad," Howell said, Deadline reported.
"But it felt like this backwards journey because for me, I've gone to public school my whole life. I'm done with high school now, but I experienced it all. So it was just this switch of going back to, how would I have reacted if I were Carrie?" she added.
Alison Thornton, who portrays Chris Hargensen, said creating a supportive environment during filming was essential given the show's dark themes.
"It was so important for us to trust each other from the beginning because the show is very dark and set had to be a safe space. And that's a credit to everyone here and Mike," Thornton said, Deadline reported.
Although based on King's novel, Flanagan hinted that the series will feature significant departures from previous adaptations.
"That's what got Stephen King very excited about this adaptation. I think a lot of people think they know what the show is. And the biggest thing I'm excited about today is just knowing what a big surprise our 'Carrie' is going to be. It certainly was to me," he said.
Based on King's debut novel published in 1974, 'Carrie' was first adapted into Brian De Palma's acclaimed 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek. It was later followed by a sequel, a television adaptation and a 2013 remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz. Flanagan's project marks the novel's first television series adaptation, Deadline reported.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally, a desi perspective on this! Bullying is such a huge issue in Indian schools too - both offline and online. The idea of bringing real teenagers into the writers' room is brilliant. Maybe this will start important conversations about mental health in our communities too. 🙏
I appreciate the effort to modernize Carrie, but I'm skeptical. The original movie worked because of its raw, unpolished horror. I fear this series might become too preachy about social media and lose the subtle terror that made King's novel so powerful. Also, Sissy Spacek's performance set such a high bar for any Carrie adaptation. Let's hope the new actress does justice.
I'm really excited about Mike Flanagan's involvement! His work on 'The Haunting of Hill House' was phenomenal at balancing deep emotional storytelling with horror. Given how social media can amplify cruelty, this could be a very timely and impactful series. The fact that they involved actual teenagers in the writing room gives me hope it will feel authentic. October 7 can't come soon enough!
While social media bullying is definitely a modern issue, I worry about how this will handle the religious elements. The original Carrie's mother was such a complex character - a product of extreme faith. In India, we understand how religion can be twisted in families. I hope they won't just make her a caricature of a religious fanatic. Samantha Sloyan is a good actress though.
Every generation deserves its own Carrie, and focusing on social media cruelty makes perfect sense for today's youth. In India, we've seen how online harassment can destroy lives,
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.