We’ve known for some time now that Warner Bros. has been planning a sort-of-but-not-quite prequel to the 1980 classic The Shining named The Overlook Hotel. And now Deadline are reporting that former The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara has been hired to write the script.
Little is known about the project, but we do know that The Overlook Hotel is not connected to Stephen King’s own Shining sequel novel Doctor Sleep, which is set for release in September.
Mazzara was the showrunner on The Walking Dead until the end of last year where he met the same fate as Frank Darabont and left the project after clashes with creator Robert Kirkman.
The Shining was directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980 starring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, a father who is influenced by the spirits of The Overlook Hotel into violence against his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd). It is often hailed as the best movie Stanley Kubrick ever made.
Without a director attached, The Overlook Hotel is very much in the early stages of development, and given Warner Bros. track record with writers, we can expect this to go through several more drafts and screenwriters before this even goes before cameras.
Originally published April 12, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
