Broadway star Kyliegh Curran has been cast as Abra Stone in the Stephen King film adaptation ‘Doctor Sleep’. The original novel was a sequel of sorts to ‘The Shining’ and featured the young psychic boy, Danny Torrence, from the first novel as a grownup. Ewan McGregor plays the adult Danny. (Danny Lloyd played the juvenile Danny in the 1980 film adaptation of ‘The Shining’.) Like Danny, Abra also possesses “The Shining,” a term for psychic abilities. ‘Doctor Sleep’ follows the villainous Rose the Hat, who will be played by ‘Mission: Impossible”s Rebecca Ferguson, and her cult, the True Knot, who hunt down and kill beings with “The Shining” to feed off of their “steam,” the energy they release when they die. Abra becomes Rose’s main target in the film.
Curran appeared in the Broadway production of ‘The Lion King’ as young Nala. She had a role in last year’s independent film ‘I Can I Will I Did’.
In the novel, Abra is the granddaughter of Jack Torrence and Danny’s niece. Here is some additional information about the character:
Abra was born with a very powerful psychic abilities, like her uncle Dan. Her abilities are even greater than Dan’s were at his peak, to the point where she was able to generate a small earthquake with her mind. She physically meets Dan in her teenage years, though she begins psychically communicating with him almost from the moment she was born.
The cast of ‘Doctor Sleep’ also includes Alex Essoe as Wendy Torrence, Carl Lumbly as Dick Halloran, Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy and Chelsea Talmadge as Deenie. Mike Flanagan (‘Gerald’s Game’) is directing, based on a script he wrote with Akiva Goldsman.
After the horrors that Danny Torrence experienced as a child in the events of ‘The Shining’, he grew into an adult in his forties that struggles with anger and alcoholism. But he’ll have to overcome that if he hopes to help Abra stand against the True Knot.
‘Doctor Sleep’ is scheduled to hit theaters in January 2020.
Source: Deadline
