Warner Bros. is moving ahead with his The Shining prequel, Overlook Hotel, and is looking to hire Mark Romanek to helm the film.
The news was first confirmed by Variety. The One Hour Photo director is now in talks with the studio to direct Overlook Hotel. This news comes weeks after Alfonso Cuaron was reportedly offered the gig.
Overlook Hotel will be written by Glen Mazzara of AMC’s The Walking Dead. It is based on an original prologue Stephen King wrote for his acclaimed horror novel in 1977, but was ultimately cut before the book was published. The story focuses on the origin of the titular hotel, where Jack Torrence later goes mad in The Shining.
The Shining was later turned into a film in 1980 by Stanley Kubrick and is widely considered one of the greatest horror films ever made. However, King has been open about his disappointment with the film and even gave ABC the OK to make a mini-series in 1997.
King recently wrote the sequel Dr. Sleep, which Warner Bros. is also hoping to turn into a film.
Romanek last directed Never Let Me Go and was fired from Disney’s Cinderella. In January, he was hired to direct Boston Strangler, also for Warner Bros.
image of Stephen King courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com