With an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s more recent stories coming soon to Netflix, the author himself recently revealed that he has seen a cut of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, praising the film which is due for release later this year on the streaming service — high praise for the streamer and director John Lee Hancock.
King revealed that he has seen a near-finished cut of the film that’s set to premiere this fall, writing on his official Twitter page, “”I have seen a close-to-finished cut of MR. HARRIGAN’S PHONE, written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and it’s nothing short of brilliant. Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell. Netflix. This fall.” The iconic horror author has not approved of every adaptation of his work in the past (looking at you, The Shining) due to their deviations from the original source material. While King didn’t reveal any details from the film, his praise toward the upcoming Netflix project is enough for fans of the writer to get excited about the arrival of a terrifying new film based on his work.
The original story of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is part of a collection of four novellas compiled together in If It Bleeds, published in 2020, and focuses on a young boy who befriends Mr. Harrigan, who eventually passes away. However, the young boy soon discovers that he is still able to communicate to the late Mr. Harrigan through the phone that he was buried with. How closely the film adaptation will follow the story remains a mystery, with more expected to be revealed as its release date is set.
Other stories in the book include The Life of Chuck, Rat, and If It Bleeds, which also serves as the title for the whole collection. Netflix acquired the rights to Mr. Harrigan’s Phone shortly after its publication, with Blumhouse set to produce the film. It remains unclear if there will be adaptations of the other stories in If It Bleeds, but with several other projects based on King’s work currently in development, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to many if those will soon be on the way too if Mr. Harrigan’s Phone does well.
The film, which is expected to debut on Netflix this fall, is directed by John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and stars Jaeden Martell, who previously starred in It, another adaptation of a book from King, alongside Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games) as Mr. Harrigan himself. Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman) and Joe Tippett (Rise) also star in the film.
Mr. Harrington’s Phone currently has no set release date. Check out our interview with Martell, Isis Hainsworth, and Adrian Greensmith about Metal Lords below: