David Farnor | On 14, Jul 2020

Netflix, Blumhouse and John Lee Hancock are teaming up to bring Stephen King’s new story, Mr Harrison’s Phone, to the screen.

The tale is just one of four novellas in If It Bleeds, the latest collection of stories from the legendary sci-fi and horror author. The anthology has been pounced on by creatives looking to adapt the stories, with Rat optioned by Ben Stiller and The Life of Chuck optioned by Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa. Let It Bleed, the fourth story in the King collection, meanwhile, may well end up at HBO, as it focuses on Holly, the detective at the heart of the cable giant’s recent adaptation of The Outsider.

That level of interest recalls King’s 1982 collection of stories, Different Seasons, which included Stand By Me, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and Apt Pupil.

Mr Harrigan’s Phone is reportedly similar in tone to Stand By Me. The coming-of-age story follows a young boy in Maine who befriends the retired Mr Harrigan, buying him his first smartphone. When the old man passes away, the boy finds himself receiving a text message from beyond the grave.

Netflix, Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy have optioned the tale, with Jason Blum, Murphy and Carla Hacken to produce and Blumhouse Television’s Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold exec-producing. John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks, The Highwaymen) will direct and adapt the story.

The deal marks the fourth Netflix film to be based on a King story, after Gerald’s Game, 1922, and In the Tall Grass.

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