Hulu’s upcoming TV show Castle Rock – which is set in prolific horror author Stephen King’s vast multiverse – has found its female lead in Melanie Lynskey. The announcement of Hulu’s newest venture into the creepy world of King earlier this year came as a shock to many fans for the simple fact that the show would not be adapting any single work in the author’s bibliography. Rather, King and producer J.J. Abrams (who also spearheaded the adaptation of King’s 11/22/63 for Hulu last year) have elected to set an original story in King’s fictional small town of Castle Rock that will “brush up” against other iconic stories set in King’s multiverse.

As previously announced, André Holland will fill the other lead role in Castle Rock while veteran actress Sissy Spacek (who’s no stranger to King adaptations, including the much-beloved 1976 film version of Carrie) and Jane Levy will fill in supporting roles. While plot details are still fairly scarce for Castle Rock, the fact that Abrams and company are casting such well-known and versatile actors seems to hint that Hulu is putting a lot of stock into the upcoming TV show.

Per Deadline, Lynskey will take up the main female lead role alongside Holland for Castle Rock. Lynskey will portray Molly Strand, who has a rare medical condition and struggles along as a real estate agent in a small town that’s known for its horrible and ill-fated living conditions.

While there’s still not a ton of information about the story and only basic information on the characters cast thus far, Castle Rock definitely seems to be going for the setting and tone that’s prevalent in a lot of King’s more straight forward horror stories, based on the details currently available. It’s also fitting that Lynskey should be one of the stars, seeing as the actress made her television debut back in 2002 with another King adaptation - the horror miniseries Rose Red. In fact, with Spacek also onboard, perhaps Hulu is planning on making even more well-known King adaptation stars as cast members for the series.

Still, some fans may be worried about a TV show set in King’s multiverse that doesn’t actually use any of the author’s works as the premise for the story. Given how ill-received a lot of King adaptations are with fans and critics, however, perhaps using the author’s vast bibliography as more of a background element for an original story could work to Castle Rock developers Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason’s favor. Regardless, it’s definitely a bold move for Hulu and all involved, but rather that risk pays off remains to be seen.

NEXT: Castle Rock Trailer

Screen Rant will keep you updated on all Castle Rock news as it becomes available.

Source: Deadline