Published Oct 1, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

Liz Hersey is an Editor and Critic for ScreenRant’s TV team, editing, reviewing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to watch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year.

With a passion for all things books, Liz frequently attends Toronto literary events and conferences, and loves interacting with her book lover community. In addition to being an avid reader of the romance and thriller genres, Liz is a writer of several short stories, and is currently at work on a young adult witch novel.

When she’s not working, reading, or writing, Liz can be found seeing movies at her local cinema, attending live jazz events, or curling up on the couch to binge her favorite TV shows.

You can reach her at [email protected].

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There is no bigger name in horror TV right now than Mike Flanagan. The writer-director built a following with inventive and acclaimed genre feature films, such as *Oculus *(2013), *Hush *(2016), and *Gerald’s Game *(2017), before absolutely blowing up on the small screen with the Netflix horror miniseries *The Haunting of Hill House *(2018).

The show’s massive popularity was enough to secure him a multi-year television deal with the streaming platform. In total, Flanagan created five horror shows for Netflix: Hill House, *The Haunting of Bly Manor *(2020), *Midnight Mass *(2021), The Midnight Club (2022), and *The Fall of the House of Usher *(2023). All met with varying levels of acclaim, these series were defined by their emotional and psychological depth rather than excessive gore and cheap jump scares.

Now that his contract with Netflix has ended, Flanagan has signed a similar exclusivity deal with Amazon. Unsurprisingly, Flanagan’s first title to be released on Amazon’s streaming platform, Prime Video, will be a miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie. A diehard fan of the iconic horror writer, Flanagan also has a couple of other King adaptations at various stages of development, along with other intriguing titles based on known horror IP.

Stephen King’s seminal work about a bullied teenage girl with telekinetic powers is one of the author’s most beloved stories. *Carrie *has been adapted into three feature-length films (and a sequel), with Brian DePalma’s original 1976 classic starring Sissy Spacek remaining the gold standard. However, Flanagan’s adaptation will be the first time the story of Carrie White has ever been made into a TV series.

Starring Summer H. Howell as the titular protagonist, the Prime Video miniseries brings *Carrie *into the present day, exploring the horrors of the digital age and cyberbullying. Though Carrie’s prom night revenge on her tormentors remains an ultimate “good for her” moment, the previous movies have all treated the character as somewhat of a monster, whereas Flanagan promises to bring his signature empathy to not only Carrie White, but also her tormentors. A fresh take on a familiar story and Flanagan’s first Prime Video series, *Carrie *is one you won’t want to miss.

There couldn’t be a better DC Comics character for Flanagan to adapt than Clayface. The story of Matt Hagen, a disfigured movie star turned test subject turned monster made of clay, is one of sheer body horror, darkness, and the heavy themes that play right into Flanagan’s wheelhouse. When Flanagan pitched the idea to DC Studios in 2023, it seemed like a no-brainer, and the writer-director’s project was greenlit in 2024.

Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts prevented Flanagan from continuing with Clayface, and he was forced to leave the project, calling it “one of the great kind of sadnesses of my career.” James Watkins stepped in as director, with a new script by Hossein Amini. Though Flanagan will also be credited as a writer and receive a “story by” credit, he has made it clear that *Clayface *“very much is not mine” (via Comic Book Movie). The film stars Tom Rhys Harries, Naomi Ackie, and Max Minghella, and will receive a theatrical release.

One of the projects that took him away from Clayface, Flanagan is writing and directing the seventh film in the *Exorcist *franchise, The Exorcist: Martyrs. No official plot has been confirmed, though a *Comic Book Movie *leak reveals, “The film follows a single-mother cop who, 13 years after taking down a notorious satanic serial killer, investigates a new series of murders connected to her past while her 12-year-old son becomes the target of a terrifying demonic force.”

The single-mother cop and 12-year-old son will likely be played by confirmed cast members Scarlett Johansson and Hamnet’s Noah Jupe, with Diane Lane, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laurence Fishburne, John Leguizamo, and Hamish Linklater also starring. *The Exorcist: Martyrs *is a passion project for Flanagan, who said, “I really just saw an opportunity to make the scariest movie I’ve ever made.” (via THR) Horror fans will see if he succeeded when The Exorcist: Martyrs, produced by Blumhouse and distributed by Universal Pictures, hits theaters in 2027.

A postapocalyptic saga about a lone gunslinger, *The Dark Tower *book series ranks among Stephen King’s most beloved titles, making the notoriously panned 2017 feature film adaptations one of the most disappointing takes on the author’s work. Fortunately, Flanagan acquired the rights to *The Dark Tower *in 2022.

Though work on the project stalled because of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Flanagan gave a promising *Dark Tower *update in early 2026, revealing that he had finished the scripts for season 1. More importantly, he said that King, who never pulls punches when it comes to adaptations of his work, was “very happy with them.” Though Flanagan has cautioned that progress will be slow, *The Dark Tower *series is expected to be released on Prime Video.

Flanagan may be best known for his horror titles, but the creative has range, which he’ll be flexing as a writer on Prime Video’s upcoming *Warhammer 40,000 *series. The show adapts Games Workshop’s beloved 1987 British tabletop miniature wargame, with superfan Henry Cavill starring and executive producing.

Though the project is moving along steadily, it’s still in the active script development stage, so don’t expect it to premiere anytime soon. However, Flanagan confirmed in July 2026 that he’s finished the story outlines and is moving on to the scripts. Flanagan also teases that *Warhammer 40,000 *will be “just a mountain” of a show (via EW). This, combined with the talent behind it, sounds like it will be well worth the wait.

Flanagan has a proven excellent track record with his Stephen King adaptations, but the announcement that he was taking on *The Mist *raised a few eyebrows. King’s 1980 novella about a group of Maine citizens trapped in a supermarket following a sinister fog, *The Mist *was made into a universally acclaimed feature film directed by Frank Darabont in 2007.

However, Flanagan promises that his *The Mist *will be “a different type of adaptation” from Darabont’s version (via EW), and given what Flanagan did with Carrie, he’s proven that he has something new to say about previously adapted subject matter. Flanagan is currently at work on the script for The Mist, which is due at Warner Bros. around Halloween 2026.

Flanagan vacates the director’s chair to serve as executive producer on the body horror and psychological thriller film Rot, currently in pre-production development. *Rot *will mark the directorial debut of Alexandra Magistro, an executive at Red Room Pictures, Flanagan’s production company.

Not much is known about the plot, other than that it’s based on a 2024 Black List script by Geo Bradley and has been described as “Repulsion by way of Cronenberg” (via Deadline). *Rot *sees Mike Flanagan reteam with Matthew Lillard, whom he collaborated with in *The Life of Chuck *and Carrie, and also stars Cooper Koch (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story) and Amber Midthunder (Prey).