Carrie Teaser: Mike Flanagan Breathes New Life Into Stephen King Classic

During a Saturday panel at Comic-Con, Prime Video announced an Oct. 7 release date for Mike Flanagan's upcoming series Carrie and the first teaser trailer for the new adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 novel.

“Misfit high‑schooler Carrie White has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret,” reads the official synopsis. “After her father’s sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.”

All eight episodes of Flanagan’s series will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on October 7th. The miniseries stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie White alongside Samantha Sloyan as her overprotective mother, Margaret. The cast also includes Siena Agudong as Sue Snell and Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle, alongside Alison Thornton, Thalia Dudek, Amber Midthunder, Josie Totah, Arthur Conti, and Joel Oulette. In addition to serving as Carrie’s showrunner and writer, Flanagan directed four episodes.

Carrie's Adaptation History

Director Brian De Palma delivered the definitive rendition of Carrie with his 1976 classic, starring Sissy Spacek as the repressed Carrie White and Piper Laurie as her religious fanatic mother, Margaret. This was followed by a B-movie horror sequel (1999’s The Rage: Carrie 2), an NBC made-for-TV affair (2002), and the most recent Chloë Grace Moretz-fronted interpretation (2013).

“De Palma adapted it faithfully and beautifully 50 years ago,” says Flanagan, a consistent adapter of King’s works between Gerald’s Game (2017), Doctor Sleep (2019), The Life of Chuck (2024), and now The Mist (upcoming). “Then it’s been adapted twice after that, officially and unofficially. It’s been imitated scores of times. So for me, this was never going to be a straight adaptation. The only way to approach it was to build something new out of the ingredients of Carrie. Otherwise, there’s really no purpose in trying to retread ground that’s been so beautifully walked before.” He also told, "Our prom sequence really is a showstopper and really is one of my favorite sequences I've ever gotten to be a part of in my career, in any capacity. It is the most complex scene I have ever, ever filmed. I remember just the shot list for it was something like 185 unique subs just to get us through."

Though it is based on the novel, the cast insisted that there were “many surprises in store.” Meanwhile, Flanagan added: “It’s a thrilling way to adapt something. That is how we were approaching Carrie. That’s what got Stephen King very excited about this adaptation. I think a lot of people think they know what the show is. And the biggest thing I’m excited about today is just knowing what a big surprise our Carrie is going to be. It certainly was to me.”