r/horror • u/yourfavchoom Mike Flanagan Fan • 5h ago

Mike Flanagan Officially Confirms The Dark Tower TV Series' Book Adaptation Order & Structure

https://screenrant.com/mike-flanagan-the-dark-tower-show-book-adaptation-order/
2.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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u/yourfavchoom Mike Flanagan Fan 5h ago edited 5h ago

Mike Flanagan revealed that his adaptation of The Dark Tower will begin with the first novel, The Gunslinger, and continue to tell the story in the same chronological order as Stephen King's books.

Flanagan explained that King's structuring of The Dark Tower book series is "genius," beginning simply with two characters, the Man in Black and the Gunslinger, in a vague desert landscape before gradually building and expanding on the franchise's massive universe "one brick at a time."

Flanagan:

”The problem with the other approaches is people who try to jump in the middle, or people who try to jump in at a different point. Because you can't throw an audience face-first into this huge universe. It's overwhelming. King did it right, he walked you in starting with two people and nothing else, and walks you one step at a time. So my adaptation was that. It was just doing the books, and doing them in order."

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u/K-Shrizzle 4h ago

It will begin with a narrator: "the Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed"

Truly nothing out there like this story. After so many of King's stories keep getting done and redone, this one has always been left out seemingly because its such a behemoth to tackle. Someone like Flanagan is the kind of creator we need doing this.

There was that remake of Salem's Lot a few years ago. I wonder if they would...well I dont wanna spoil it for those who havent read

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u/Rockeye4510 3h ago

It will begin with a narrator: "the Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed"

In Sam Elliot's voice.

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u/Duffalpha 41m ago

They should use Frank Mullers voice from the audiobook. RIP

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u/zillionaire_ 4h ago

I thought there was a Dark Tower movie, or am I thinking of something else?

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u/mister____mime 4h ago

There was an action movie with a thin dark tower coating, yes

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u/K-Shrizzle 3h ago

Sadly there was. Imagine if they tried to do Harry Potter in one movie

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u/ghostghost31 3h ago

Nope. Definitely never been a movie before. Definitely not. Trust me lol

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 3h ago

I write stories and I constantly think about this opening line and how genius it is at pulling the reader into the story.

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u/Shadiezz2018 1h ago

I didn't read Dark Tower

Did the Salem's Lot vampires makes an appearance??

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u/TheOnlyCloud 34m ago

Father Donald Callahan actually makes it into the Dark Tower series, and that's about all I can tell you without major spoilers

0

u/Kind_Of_A_Dick 1h ago

Yeah, but how many seasons before they cancel it?  While I’d rather someone tackle Dan Simmons’ “Summer Of Night”, I honestly don’t think Dark Tower is a good choice for a series unless you can secure the whole story being told instead of cutting out after two seasons.

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u/AgnarOfSaturn 5h ago

It’s the same thing with Narnia books, I’m so glad they are adapting the first book Magician’s Nephew that shows the birth of Narnia to set the stage for the later events instead of jumping into the wardrobe storyline

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u/AchillesShort 5h ago

Well it's not technically the first book released right? Just the first chronologically? Unless I'm mistaken

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u/AgnarOfSaturn 5h ago

It’s chronologically the first book and Lewis’ own recommendation to enter the world of Narnia.

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u/dominic-cobb 3h ago

It’s not really Lewis’s own recommendation when the person who asked if they should read the magician’s nephew first had already read through the series and Lewis said to read in what ever order they prefer. I’m not a purist and am excited for the movie but there’s a reason Lion witch and wardrobe is the popular book and entry point.

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u/axw3555 3h ago

Sixth release of seven, but first in universe chronologically.

But a lot of Narnia box sets after the series was done were in chronological order. (And realistically, they will never do an accurate adaptation of the horse and his boy. Way too many “product of its time” elements that would get people all angry these days).

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u/sqigglygibberish 1h ago

I think it’s a little unfair to just say it would make people all angry and hand wave the criticisms completely.

Of course there’s the standard “it was a different time” argument, but when the story is a thinly veiled set of both cultural and religious allegories I can get why some adult readers are turned off by parts of the characterization.

In Lewis’ words it’s a story about the conversion of a “heathen,” and that element when combined with other parts that would now be called colorism or orientalism feels a bit different from just an “it’s an old story” situation.

But I think it would actually be pretty easy to simply make changes to how calormen is presented and still maintain the themes and messages that do resonate with a lot of people (granted it’ll make the Moses parallels less on the nose, but we’ve got overt Aslan Jesus to balance it out).

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u/IndomitableBanana 5h ago

I think this is the opposite, unless I’m misreading it. That is going in chronological order for the story, Flanagan is doing release order.

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u/kelp_forests 1h ago

The magicians nephew storyline would makes no sense to new fans and removes a lot of the impact of the later books. It’s like starting a series with one of those Disney prequels about how malificent became evil I mean misunderstood or whatnot

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u/raisingcuban 5h ago

instead of jumping into the wardrobe storyline

You should have told CS Lewis when he began writing the series not to start with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe then. Cant believe he just jumped right into writing the wardrobe storyline.

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u/AgnarOfSaturn 5h ago

Lewis himself recommended to start reading with Magician’s Nephew not Wardrobe : )

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u/Mojave_RK 3h ago

Not a big fan of that “was” there

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u/snapldeap 5h ago

If there's one person I trust to do The Dark Tower, it's Flanagan.

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u/jerseydevil51 5h ago

Ever since he directed Gerald's Game and added the line, "all things serve the Beam" I knew he would be the only one who could do it right.

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u/ComprehensiveEbb6744 5h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/lYjA4tfvCc8UAju1Op

I gasped and cheered to myself when I heard that!

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u/jerseydevil51 5h ago

I had to stop and rewatch that to make sure I heard that right. Such a great inclusion.

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 3h ago

He was so real for adding that in. You just know he must have had a conversation with King about it too, what a massively cool moment for any fan

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u/holyhackzak 5h ago

I trust him to do the Dark Tower, but I don’t know if he is who I would want to do the Dark Tower. Flanagan stories are generally pretty straightforward compared to the batshit insanity that is The Dark Tower. We’ve never seen him do anything like that before. My first thought was someone that isn’t afraid to get weird, like a prime Terry Gilliam or something.

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u/danthecryptkeeper 5h ago

Yooo I never knew I needed Terry Gilliam Dark Tower until right now

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u/Different_Target_228 5h ago

How can you call Haunting Of Hill House straight forward?

As long as he's read the books, he'll do fine. Better than any adaptation so far.

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u/cr0w1980 5h ago

He's going to have to trim some stuff, especially from the later books. Which I would be fine with. King went off the rails in some aspects IMO starting with Wolves of the Calla.

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u/not-my-other-alt 3h ago

I mean, a ton of it is going to have to be changed or cut just so they don't spend 150% of their budget on IP rights for Marvel Characters, Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.

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u/CanKaNoReyCropper 4h ago

There’s a definite difference pre and post… incident…

Not bad, per se, bit when he figured out a general finish line it was definitely a bit of a turn

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u/TheMundar 3h ago

At least we aren't getting GRR Martined with it, that'll never be finished

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u/infinitevoid1988 5h ago

Heresy. Wolves is a masterpiece :)

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u/harrumphstan 4h ago

I loved Wolves, and seeing Roland at his physical prime. Song of Susannah almost made me not want to finish the series I’d spent decades waiting for.

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u/cr0w1980 5h ago

I don't think it's a bad book at all, but the Dr Doom robots, lightsabers, etc were a bit much. He definitely needed an idea filter at times later in the series. I hate how he wrote himself into the story.

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u/moxyc 2h ago

Huh. I kinda fell off at the start of this book. Roland's backstory was a bit of a slog for me and I needed a break. But if it goes crazy like this, I might have to pick it back up. Sounds fun

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u/lebrilla 1h ago

It will help you remember the face of your father

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u/CastrosNephew 1h ago

Definitely gonna be reconfigured for the series, I can’t wait to see who they cast in the Callah

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u/mdavis360 3h ago

Greatest ending ever. My mind was blown.

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u/wyldstallionesquire 1h ago

I disliked it when I first got to it in the series but I think it’s one of my favorites now.

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 4h ago

Honestly, I thought his fall of house usher proves he's willing to get weird with source material to adapt while remaining faithful to the point of it all. Dark Tower is massive, adapting it is not like adapting most stories, but i am kind of excited for an adaption of the series for the first time because Mike has, imo ofc, not put out anything bad in like 15 years. Not great, fine even, but not bad.

His reputation on TV shows vs movies is even stronger!

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u/PowerNinja5000 5h ago

Put Gilliam in the 12 Monkeys time machine, stat!

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u/Ok-Psychology-9421 3h ago

i love Flanagan, but the Dark Tower gets so surreal and unhinged that i’d love to see someone like Terry Gilliam tackle it, because capturing that weirdness without making it feel generic is the real challenge.

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u/Ani-3 5h ago

I am so excited for this!! He can honestly do no wrong in my eyes

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u/Bulky-Conclusion6606 5h ago

just finished carrie, loved it and was definitely a fresh take, and the second half of the finale was my only complaint. the cast was great and can’t wait for his other adaptations

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u/Khiva 4h ago

I mean, cutting the heart out of Carrie is a pretty significant criticism of an adaptation of Carrie.

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u/yokelwombat 37m ago

I liked Midnight Mass and Gerald‘s Game, I thought his Carrie adaptation was absolutely awful. So I‘m quite skeptical about him making what is arguably King‘s magnum opus.

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u/Bulky-Conclusion6606 3h ago

i never said he did that, i never read the book yet, and i’ll be rewatching it at least one more time. It has plenty of heart at times , i just said i thought the finale wasn’t as strong as the rest of the episodes

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u/VgArmin 4h ago

I don't know... I've been thinking about this a lot after watching Carrie and for me - Mike Flannagan does great Gothic Drama.

Carrie was good, but for me, it wasn't horror. It was a tragedy and drama, but not actually terror. The way certain characters were portrayed in this adaptation versus the other ones I can't say I was fully invested. I understand the changes, but I don't agree with them. Carrie was high quality, had good acting, but wasn't horror.

For The Dark Tower, I hope to feel the terror and dread to a visceral sense that the characters experience. I want that final instance in the series to hit like a ton of bricks. I really hope Flannagan and his team have the chops to make that happen.

I like a lot of his work in the Gothic style. Hill House, Bly Manor, Usher, and Carrie were all fantastic. For The Dark Tower I hope it's more akin to the novel version of Jurassic Park and less like the Spielberg movie version, if that comparison registers with people.

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u/Purdaddy Are you here, to kill, the 'pider? 4h ago

But TDT isn't really horror either? Dark fantasy with horror elements.

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u/VgArmin 4h ago

Is there dark fantasy without horror? (Genuine question). Most of the Dark Fantasy genre I can think of are quite dreadful or terrifying or have very horrific scenes. Game of Thrones, Legend, and The Black Cauldron all come to mind and while GoT is the more grounded of the 3, it never shies away from bad things happening to everyone.

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u/JoJoJoJoel stay away from the light 2h ago

depends on your definition of horror... But if you didn't think his Carrie had any horror, then Dark Tower also wouldnt

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u/Ok_Conclusion_6324 4h ago

I don’t ever remember those feelings in TDT, unless like, maybe on Blaine the Mono.

I remember a feeling of sweeping adventure and great tragedy and family and violence but never TERROR

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 4h ago

I want the first meeting between Roland and The Man in Black to have some horrific weight to it, because I felt like I was taken on a journey of cosmic implications that I couldn't stop visualizing after. It is, to me, the scene I most personally need to see done well in any adaption!

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u/Ok_Conclusion_6324 3h ago edited 3h ago

I mean they sit and talk under the sky at their first meeting it’s more surreal than horrific to me, like the old foes sit to palaver after Jake falls to the muties

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 57m ago

You're uh missing some important bits where he gets sent on a quick vision quest into impenetrable darkness followed by obliterating light

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u/EnvironmentalTrade64 4h ago

Look at life of chuck and dr sleep, Mike can do any genre

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u/VgArmin 4h ago edited 4h ago

I gott watch Dr. Sleep again; I remember liking it. I haven't heard of Life of Chuck .

I saw Shelby Oaks a couple nights ago and didn't realize it was by him. Great found footage segments - very iffy for me on the rest.

Edit: oh, and Oculus! Yeah that's of course great, but it's also very limited in scope. I also wasn't convinced with Stowaway.

King writes great and interesting characters. Flanagan does great dramas. I'm still on the fence that will translate into a literal adaptation of the Dark Tower series.

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u/EnvironmentalTrade64 4h ago

Life of chuck also Stephen king (short story), it’s incredible I’m so jealous of you. Came out last year, it’s amazing, go in blind

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u/VgArmin 4h ago

Thanks for the recommendation! I love King's anthologies but that must be in a collection I haven't read yet.

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u/EnvironmentalTrade64 4h ago

It’s a very short read if you want to read it before watching. I actually prefer the movie though

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u/ScottShawnDeRocks 3h ago

Chiming in. I love the film Life of Chuck more than the short story. Happy tears during the dancing scene.

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u/Formal_Sand_3178 4h ago

Chris Stuckmann directed Shelby Oaks, not Mike Flanagan. He was just brought on as a producer during post production.

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u/hiigiveup 4h ago

He was just executive producer on Shelby Oaks, so not really one of his projects.

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u/al_0_n_3 1h ago

Watch the Director's Cut of Dr. Sleep. I love the book. Was underwhelmed by the theatrical release. Really dig the Director's Cut.

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u/closetotheedge88 9m ago

Shelby Oaks was directed by Chris Stuckmann, not Mike Flanagan. Flanagan was EP on it

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u/Opus_723 25m ago

I liked Hill House, which was the first thing I saw involving him, but I haven't been able to get through any of the others since because something about it always just screams "Oh, it's Hill House again."

This probably isn't a fair criticism, it's totally fair for an artist to have a recognizable style, but for some reason everything he does feels like the same project with different legos bricks to me.

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 4h ago

I used to mow lawns in my summers and listened to Jurassic Park for awhile. What a good book, honestly way scarier than the movie at times

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u/ScottShawnDeRocks 3h ago

It was the first "adult book" I read. Love Jurassic Park.

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u/baconatbacon 5h ago

Especially as a series where things can breathe and have time to expand properly as he appears to have planned with that quote!!

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u/Precarious3145 5h ago

THIS is the one King project I think he'll be able to capture. There's enough material that he won't stretch a novella into a multiple season story.

My only hope is that he doesn't do what he's been doing lately and change so much that it's more of an "inspired by" adaptation.

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u/thrillho145 5h ago edited 4h ago

I love Mike Flanagan

I think the Gunslinger will be amazing. I don't have much faith after that 

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u/Jaschndlr 4h ago

I love his story telling and I trust him to "get it" but I feel like he's too PG by nature to get this right. I'd love nothing more than to be proven wrong

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u/fleshvessel 5h ago

What a fucking concept. Starting with book one!

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u/The_Feral_Camel 5h ago

Well he could start at the end of the last book.

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u/DragonRoostHouse 5h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/5gw0VWGbgNm8w

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u/zeezeeboom 10m ago

is this an Other Worlds Than these reference???? It always comes back around kennit

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u/AdorableSobah 5h ago

Probably trying to figure out how to squeeze in book 4

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u/G_Regular 4h ago

I wonder if it will get split up into little chunks and sprinkled throughout instead of being its own section. I like Wizard and Glass but it does kind of grind the story to a halt, and weird pacing is already kind of an issue with the series (just my opinion).

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u/moxyc 2h ago

It absolutely does. I finished it a few months ago and haven't picked up the series since. However it seems like things pick up again in Wolves so maybe I'll pick it back up.

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u/JewcieJ 1h ago

It screeches to a halt in Wolves, too. It's like 500 pages of one character's backstory

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u/Regemony 1h ago

Literally my favourite part of the series. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight"

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u/monsieurxander 4h ago

There was a Dark Tower pilot produced at Amazon a few years ago that started with the adventures of young Roland.

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u/NinjaZombieHunter 5h ago

Can’t be worse than the movie. Lol. Casting is gonna be interesting.

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u/BearForceOne_ 5h ago

If the Carrie show is anything to go by, Jake will be played by a 25yo man.

I still trust Flanagan to adapt this more than probably anyone, but getting the right cast will be so important.

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u/Akschadt 5h ago

“With Jack Nicholson in a propeller beanie as Jake”

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u/BearForceOne_ 5h ago

“Forget it Jake, it’s Mid-World.”

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u/Hackwork89 4h ago

If the Carrie show is anything to go by, the dialogue will be heavy-handed, on the nose, unnatural, and instead of an OST and ambiance, pop music will fill 80-90% of the scenes to guide our emotions.

I love Mike Flanagan, and Midnight Mass is genuinely one of the best shows ever made (imo), but Carrie and The Midnight Club were absolute garbage. I hope he does better for The Dark Tower, as I've just started reading the series.

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u/BearForceOne_ 4h ago

I agree with you there. I didn’t watch Midnight Club but really love his other Netflix shows and SK adaptations.

Carrie was pretty rough and my fear is that she’s going to be brought into his Dark Tower series at some point.

But enjoy your journey to the tower! I wish I could read it again for the first time.

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u/baddoggg 3h ago edited 3h ago

Walter goggins as either the villain or protagonist. I need this.

Someone else mentioned karl urban too. Would be great casting.

I worry with flannigan projects about recycling previous cast too much. I think it's admirable to reward people you like but at times I feel it detrimental. There are actors he likes that are just detracting to me.

I worry he'll shoehorn zach gilford in as the gunslinger or something and my hype with dissolve.

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u/VersoDidNothingWrong 1h ago

Goggins is a damn powerhouse, him in any project is always a massive plus for me.

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u/FurtiveNoise 5h ago

Note that it hasn't been greenlit yet... still, I remain hopeful.

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u/AwesomeMcPants 5h ago

People seem to like Carrie (haven't gotten a chance to start it yet, but I've heard good things) so I feel like between that, and if Clayface is well received, we're that much closer to it getting greenlit.

Flanagan seems to be one of the more highly regarded horror directors right now, too, I'm pretty sure I enjoyed everything of his that I've seen. His Stephen King adaptations have been on point, too. (even with that kind of out of place ending in Gerald's Game.)

I also remain hopeful.

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u/Pjoernrachzarck 25m ago

It isn’t financed at all. Nobody currently wants to pay for it. This is all still wishful thinking at this point.

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u/Goodmmluck 4h ago

Hamish Linklater would be perfect for MIB.

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u/soda_cookie 4h ago

God damn you're right

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u/Reasonable-Fly5885 5h ago

I am so excited for this and I hope to live long enough to see it finished!

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u/afroadam 3h ago

Karl Urban?!?!

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u/baddoggg 3h ago

Did you see something mentioning him being cast or are you suggesting? I think he'd be fantastic for the gunslinger.

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u/luymerz 1h ago

Scott Eastwood?!

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u/NegotiationLate8553 5h ago

I feel like Carrie was the “one for them” and now we actually get his King passion project. I expect him to also have built up his name recognition even more so after the Exorcist next year too. It’ll be nice to have a hyped up adaptation of this series!

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u/epicingamename 4h ago

really? with all the changes he made with carrie you still think its "one for them"? if anything, carrie is the beginning of "this is all mine now." he just started his very own stephen king universe

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u/EdwinMcduck 4h ago

I would imagine in this context one for them meant one for Amazon. Carrie's a safer investment than Dark Tower.

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 3h ago

King said he loved Flanagan's Carrie, if that makes you feel better

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u/epicingamename 1h ago

i like flanagan's carrie, with or without king's opinion. im just saying this is not a "one for them" work. its the first of the many "one for me" just within the stephen king universe alone. he took some liberties with carrie to make this universe HIS.

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u/The_Mighty_Angus 1h ago

King also said The Flash is one of the greatest movies he's ever seen.

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u/Sapowski_Casts_Quen 56m ago

King also wrote Carrie, so I actually care about his opinion

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u/Metallikyle 3h ago

Yes, he's said so himself. When he moved over to Amazon, they already had the Carrie rights and wanted him to do it.

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u/eudaemonic666 5h ago

Agreed, he proved himself big time. I like how they managed to consolidate all the possible horrors you can experience in a highschool. Im really impressed

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u/Khiva 3h ago

Watch "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish" if you want to see the same story up to 11. Real story that makes Carrie (outside of the ending of course) look tame.

Go in blind.

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u/eudaemonic666 3h ago

Okay thanks will do!

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u/Exes_And_Excess 1m ago

That story is so fucking insane and infuriating. Blew me the fuck away.

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u/TransientBandit 5h ago

Atp I will watch anything he directs. He could be directing the state sponsored execution of Bambi, and I’d skip my daughter’s wedding to watch.

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u/Three_Froggy_Problem 5h ago

I know this isn’t going to be a popular take here, but as someone who loves Flanagan and really doesn’t like King, I’m kind of bummed that Flanagan is almost exclusively the “Stephen King adaptation guy” now.

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u/AgnarOfSaturn 5h ago

He just gets King. Midnight Mass was the most King story but it was a Flanagan original.

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u/Blanknameblank818 3h ago

Highly recommend this essay Flanagan wrote on Midnight Mass. Midnight Mass is an autobiographical in a way.

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u/Khiva 3h ago

I will never understand the hype for that show. Salem's Lot with a cameo from The Mist, but with meandering monologues that sound like freshmen who just took their first bong hit.

People love it and I just have no idea why.

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u/Analogmon 2h ago

The monologues are great if you aren't a second screen watcher.

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u/unitled 30m ago

Monologue defenders are as tedious as the monologues themselves - 'oh you must be too stupid to understand them'

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u/68plus1equals 3h ago

Same here! I love mike Flanagan stuff normally but I found midnight mass to be actively bad and corny, I’m prepared to be downvoted because I know people love it but I have to speak my truth!

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u/AchillesShort 5h ago

Same. Was kinda bummed he only penned the initial script for Clayface and isnt attached anymore, I think that would've been a different project for him to tackle and it would've been nice to see what he did with it.

At least we have Exorcist Martyrs too look forward to! I kinda trust him to deal with sequels to existing franchises following a horrible entry (Ala Ouija Origin of Evil)

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u/ArcaneAces 3h ago

You don't like King or you don't like the works of King? And why?

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u/Emergency-Mammoth-88 2h ago

Next year is the exorcist 

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u/Brox42 4h ago

I saw this headline and immediately thought did he get exclusive rights to the King catalogue or something?

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u/Yogurt_Ph1r3 48m ago

King haters when every third Flanagan project is a Stephen King adaptation

https://giphy.com/gifs/dwRSYq2N5qjMQ

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u/Heff228 4h ago

Hasn’t he done like 2X the amount of stuff that isn’t King? And you only have to wait 5 months for another non King movie from him but it is part of a franchise.

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u/Pete_Venkman You will not be saved by the god Plutonium. 4h ago

I like both Flanegan and King and I'm getting tired of all the adaptations. If they're enjoying themselves, more power to 'em; I personally don't need an 8-hour Carrie retelling.

Also, I said this in a different thread, but: I don't really want an adaptation of Dark Tower.

Or if they do adapt it, I actually hope it's re-interpreted and adapted heavily to create something new. What is the basic concept of The Dark Tower but on television in the 2020s? It would probably look quite different; different structure, different inspiration, different references.

Because I have no interest in something I can watch while following the books along with my finger. I can already do that, it's called my imagination.

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u/Wayward85 3h ago

I didn’t think I needed a full miniseries for Carrie either, but it was pretty damn good. Definitely did an excellent job of modernizing the story, creating some truly horrible characters (in a good way, all dealing with their own issues and personifying them into bullying) and everyone had a part in what happened to her, no one was innocent. I love the Dark Tower series and appreciate that a series is a much, much better option than a movie or even series of movies. Pacing, what to leave in and out, and how to translate it into a more modern offering will all be challenging, but after seeing Carrie, it might be possible. I think the setting and how much cgi will have to go into it will be the most challenging balance. It would be really awesome if it could get some Rings of Power or Wheel of Time or Game of Thrones budget options, although I understand that is very ambitious and very unlikely.

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u/Aggravating_Fox_8159 3h ago

So you don't want adaptations because you have an imagination?

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u/calmandchili 2h ago

Best of the cinema is came from adoptations what are these guys are on about lmao

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u/Mnudge 2h ago

So, no movies or tv shows should ever have source material? Every show and movie should be completely new and unique?

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u/Pete_Venkman You will not be saved by the god Plutonium. 1h ago

I even mentioned how there could be a good Dark Tower adaptation right in the middle there.

I just don't think Flanagan will deliver on that. He'll "do it right" for the fans, and that'll make for a show I'm not interested in.

Because all I'm saying what I'm personally looking for in an adaptation. And specifically what I'd want in an adaptation of The Dark Tower, which is such a bananas piece of work that to do a completely faithful adaptation is almost against the spirit of the thing.

But you can want what you want and like what you like. Obviously plenty of people disagree with me and just want the book transferred to the screen, so don't worry about it!

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u/Weird-East-3575 29m ago

ITS NOT ORIGINAL TONY

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u/DR3AD-PIGEON 3h ago

We’ve never had a good gunslinger or dark tower adaptation, I’m all for this

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u/BaronessVonKush 4h ago

Please don't fuck this up. Please don't fuck this up. Please don't fuck this up. Please don't fuck this up.

https://giphy.com/gifs/tN1lvnT4M6nte

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u/Ok-Egret 5h ago

Begging the universe for an Andrew Scott version of the Man in Black.

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u/AIUnbuiltWorld 3h ago

The world has moved on, but I’m still waiting for Flanagan to say “thankee-sai” in the first trailer. Please don’t rush this one, the books deserve it.

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u/MsKi77y 3h ago

What a post to come across when I'm in the middle of a 3rd listen of the complete audio book series. Incredible narrators really made these come to life.

Hated the last adaptation of the movie. The closest book to movie match was Dreamcatcher, surprisingly.

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u/AgenticGuillotine 5h ago

Hope it's better than his YA spin on Carrie.

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u/bert_wall 4h ago

Been digging Carrie.

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u/R3AN1M8R 4h ago

I really enjoyed the first 7 episodes but found the final episode to be a complete clusterfuck that undermined everything that came before it.

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u/AntiSocialW0rker 4h ago

I was enjoying the hell out of it until I watched the last episode. After the finale, I don't really have any desire to do a rewatch and probably won't recommend it to people.

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u/Khiva 3h ago

I see people saying they loved it up to the finale, but I really don't see what was special or compelling about cramming in a pile of YA stories to a story that barely needed them. The book gets there in 150 pages - what do we gain with a soapy romance among teachers or a ghost girl so obviously not there it's weirdly set up as a twist?

They add more to characters in a way that's been done 1000 times before while also stripping more out of both Carrie and her mother's characterization.

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u/mbwrose 3h ago

Sounds like you haven’t finished it.

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u/PhasedVenturer 5h ago

Does this guy want to do anything original anymore? He’s attached to every IP at this point

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u/shaunrundmc 4h ago

Oh he wrote a novella, on top of the 50k projects.

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u/UncircumciseMe 5h ago

Is this even green lit? They made him “prove himself” with Carrie despite him being one of the best horror directors in the game right now. Don’t get me wrong I loved Carrie, but this dude has made like 5 amazing King adaptations. Give him a fuckin break and let him make Dark Tower!

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u/oloboloboo 5h ago

Hope they make it to Wizard and Glass

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u/NighthawK1911 5h ago

I always thought making a Movie version would suck because the Runtime will be too compressed. Which did end up happening in the movie.

A TV series would definitely do it better.

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u/MmmmMorphine 5h ago

Oh my god it's happening. It's finally happening

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u/eudaemonic666 5h ago

Hope this gets greenlit. I like Flanagan's creations except the extra long monologues which in the Carrie series was minimal. Im trusting him to bring life to King's universe.

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u/Lucky_Chaarmss 3h ago

As Flanagan puts it, "That's the way to do it." His approach is "to do the books," following the outline and structure that King masterfully provided in the source material.

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u/JulesUdrink 3h ago

Jesus this guys on fire lately

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u/DarkFriend81 3h ago

Oh please, please, please can we get a good adaptation of this series!

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u/LetMeIn1701 3h ago

He keeps knocking them out of the park. He is such a good director. 🔥

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u/AtypicalRenown 2h ago

This is cool, but why remake The Mist? It's perfect as-is, especially the B&W version.

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u/coleburnz 1h ago

I hope it's better than Carrie

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u/xflare2000 50m ago

Im tired of Stephen King

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u/Bananaman9020 48m ago

They are going to have to try super hard to be worse than that film adaptation we got

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u/fleshbunny 46m ago

After season 1 of Carrie I genuinely have full faith in him being Stephen King’s conduit for contemporary adaptations of his work. Not a fan of all of Flanagan’s work and so was ambivalent about Carrie but it worked for me, clean 8.5/10 when I was expecting like a 5 at best tbh. Hope this pans out well.

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u/LiarInGlass 5h ago

I bet the whole thing will turn into a teen thriller show somehow with a bunch of shitty indie pop music in every episode.

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u/tequilajinx 5h ago

Hopefully he stays as close as possible to the original books except for that part…

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u/snizzy_snazz 5h ago

The end?

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u/tequilajinx 4h ago

No, the ending was foreshadowed all throughout the books. I’m talking about the part where Stephen King literally wrote himself into the damn story

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u/motorleagueuk-prod 4h ago

That fucking ruined the books for me far more than "that ending".

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u/tequilajinx 4h ago

It completely destroyed the verisimilitude. Completely took me out of the story. I was so angry.

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u/cornc0btv 5h ago

Okay I'm excited!

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u/ForgottenFuturist 5h ago

Holy crap this will be awesome. He is the absolute best person to do this

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u/VonD0OM 5h ago

Isn’t he too busy making Warhammer 40k with Henry Cavill?

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u/AchillesShort 5h ago

He's also working on a The Mist reboot or remake. Man's is staying busy busy busy

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u/VonD0OM 4h ago

The mist was so depressing lol

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u/ours 40m ago

Because 40k is such a jolly place.

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u/soda_cookie 4h ago

Is it going to include The Wind Through the Keyhole ?

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u/pej69 4h ago

Don’t tease me like this!

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u/Candldust 1h ago

I've loved Flannagan's previous work, but he really messed up the landing with Carrie. It makes me worried about his decision making.... Following Carrie's poorly executed ending its just left a bad taste in my mouth - like, will he actually be true to these characters?

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u/3verythingEverywher3 5h ago

He said this same thing years ago. The article says it’s not even greenlit.

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u/Winterlash 3h ago

if there's one person I don't trust to adapt the dark tower, it's flanagan.

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u/JovaniFelini 2h ago

And why's that?

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u/StreetRich5026 5h ago

Stephen King should just give Flanagan the ok to swirls in some Haunting of Hill House/Midnight Mass into this show

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u/screamicide 3h ago

Ugh, literally anyone else please. I hate his style and direction so much, and his color palettes are terrible.

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u/Ok-Employer-9147 5h ago

My only advice is to keep Stephen King out of it...
Generally speaking the more that guy has input the worse the adaptation becomes..

Outside of that translating the Gunslinger series to screen will be tough, i read the entire series and it meanders a lot. And the whole 'loop' ending in the last book' was a kick in the nuts,

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u/Beansie_Wish2182 5h ago

Hellls yeah!!!

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u/LiteratureSimilar907 5h ago

I believe when theres a trailer

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u/SendMeNudibranchs 5h ago

🥳🎉🥳

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u/sohnya_u 5h ago

You know what, hell yeah!

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u/Eddie_0789 5h ago

I’m surprised this hasn’t been done yet

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u/Hechtic 4h ago

It’s been long enough, I’m ready to be hurt again