Wondering how the novella of ‘The Mist‘ could be turned into an ongoing series really isn’t that strange after Syfy gave us ‘Haven,’ but a few answers as to the direction that Spike is taking the series have come to light. King’s work has often been taken and given a fresh coat of paint from whoever is directing it in everything from ‘The Shining’ to ‘Under the Dome’ and a multitude of titles in between. Fan’s of King’s adaptations will likely not be too surprised to see changes here but what is a key takeaway is that they aren’t just borrowing from the novella but the 2007 cinematic adaptation as well!
The news came forward during the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour when executive producer Christian Torpe shared new details about the series. The series wasn’t looking to be fully faithful to the source material from the beginning:
“Let’s call it a reimagination. Internally, we talk about it as doing the Fargo approach, where the movie and the TV show is the same, but it’s different. It’s like a weird, twisted cousin to the original source material. Fans of the movie and of the book and of Mr. King’s work will certainly see elements from it. … We also, in order to develop it for TV and turn it into an ongoing series, took our own little detours here and there.”
The bleak ending of the film compared to the novella was a turn off to some but even King had claimed that he had gone the same route as Frank Darabont in previous interviews. This ending, in particular, might be used in the series:
“I personally love Mr. [Frank Darabont’s] ending. I thought it was a stroke of genius. We are playing around in that territory and we also know, of course, Mr. King’s ending. And I know Mr. King actually preferred Darabont’s ending And so I think we came up with our own spin on a very original and surprising ending.”
As the show will give us multiple groups of survivors who are trying to make it through ‘The Mist,’ it should come as no surprise to give us that rather bleak ending for at least one of the groups and have to see the last character standing have to go on in whatever world the series involves into. It is unclear at this time if we’ll see the military push back against ‘The Mist’ or if it will be sticking around for quite some time to come in order to expand the series into a multi-season affair.
Are you looking forward to ‘The Mist’ premiering on Spike later this year? Do you feel that Darabont’s ending will work well in pushing forward one of the story arcs or should they have just stuck with how King ended his novella? Share your thoughts below!
Sources: TV Guide
Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!
