A Sequel to "The Shining" and "Doctor Sleep" Called "Hallorann" May Now Be Dead

Rest in peace. We (literally) hardly knew ye.

A sequel to The Shining, titled Doctor Sleep, hit cinemas last week, but audiences apparently snoozed through it.

Now, those disinterested viewers may have just redrum-ed a potential third instalment in the saga.

The Stephen King adaptation, arriving almost 40 years after Stanley Kubrick’s take on The Shining, grossed a measly $US14.1 million in the United States, where box office prognosticators had originally predicted an opening of $US25 million or more. In Australia, it earned just $AUD805,621, opening in fourth place after Last Christmas, Terminator: Dark Fate and Joker.

Hey, we liked it!

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Movie Review: Rise and Shine for Stephen King's Doctor Sleep

As the Hollywood Reporter tells it, this unimpressive debut caught executives at Warner Bros. off guard (especially considering how good reviews for the film had been in advance of its release).

According to THR’s report, Warners chief Toby Emmerich had already signed Doctor Sleep’s director Mike Flanagan to write another sequel, even though there’s no third Stephen King book in the series.

The sequel apparently has the working title of Hallorann, based on the character of Dick Hallorann, an elderly chef who teachers young Danny Torrance how to harness his telepathic power in The Shining. He serves as a ghostly guide to adult Danny (Ewan McGregor) in Doctor Sleep.

Dick Hallorann was played by Scatman Crothers in the original, and Carl Lumbly in the sequel.

Alas, if that sounds like a good idea to you, it’s probably best not to get married to it.

Unless Doctor Sleep can hold onto its audience over the next few weeks, Warner Bros. may not be so keen to re-invest in the Shining-verse.

At least Stephen King, who acknowledged the picture’s underperformance at the box office, is happy with how Doctor Sleep came out. And given how profitable the It series has been for WB, maybe they'll greenlight Hallorann just to remain in the Stephen King business.

Header Image: Warner Bros. Pictures