The release of director Mike Flanagan’s “Doctor Sleep” is one of the more interesting of the year. The film, while the overall reception has been mixed, is looked at as a fairly decent Stephen King adaptation that does its best to respect “The Shining,” as well as introduce a proper sequel that is more beholden to the source material. It even got the King stamp of approval. But it bombed at the box office. And now, for the home release, Warner Bros. is allowing for Flanagan to go back to the editing room.
According to the filmmaker, WB is going to include the “Director’s Cut” of “Doctor Sleep” when the film arrives on Digital on January 21, 2020, and physical media on February 4. So, will the new cut of the film win over critics and fans? If nothing else, Flanagan thinks the Director’s Cut is “more literary” than the theatrical release and is actually broken up into chapters, like the book.
According to a new statement (via Collider), the filmmaker praises Warner Bros. for allowing him to make a new cut of the film and discusses how this isn’t some half-finished, cash grab that some Director’s Cuts end up being.
“They really let us do this right – it’s a finished, complete, fully polished new cut of the movie. Nothing in it is temp,” said Flanagan.
He added, “We shot a LOT of material for this movie, and I always knew it wouldn’t all fit. I was reticent to call this a ‘Director’s Cut’ at first, as I absolutely love and stand by the cut I made for our theatrical release. But there was stuff I actively decided to remove from that cut that I missed, and that I would think about even weeks after the fact.”
So what all is included in the new “Doctor Sleep: Director’s Cut?” Well, the filmmaker isn’t ready to spoil the surprises but he promised that there will be brand-new scenes that weren’t in the theatrical release, as well as some extended scenes that help flesh out the film. Ultimately, Flanagan said that the three-hour movie was always in the back of his mind, but he knew that the film would have to be much shorter for the theatrical release.
“I don’t want to spoil any of that, but I can say that there is new material throughout (including in the final act at the Overlook),” teased Flanagan. “Some of my favorite stuff involved Young Danny and Wendy (there’s some terrific material with Alex Essoe that I’m thrilled is restored here), and will be familiar to fans of the book. There’s also a fair amount of new stuff involving young Abra in the film’s first act, learning about her shine, and how it affects her parents.”
He continued, “And there are some surprises I definitely won’t spoil here.”
As mentioned, the Director’s Cut will accompany the regular release of the film on digital in January and 4K & Blu-ray in February.
The Director’s Cut of #DoctorSleep (TRT 180 mins) lands on Digital (4K streaming) 1/21, and on Blu-ray (with 4K UHD Theatrical Cut) on 2/4. Hope you enjoy! pic.twitter.com/3hxyr6kCEk
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) December 19, 2019