Author Stephen King gives the utmost praise for the upcoming movie adaptation of Mr. Harrigan's Phone, a short story from his collection If It Bleeds. King remains as popular as ever, with several of his works in active development, including the newly-announced adaptation of The Regulators by Bohemia Group and writer George Cowan. Others include movie adaptations of The Boogeyman, Salem's Lot, Revival, and several TV miniseries. King's stories have historically been extremely popular with fans who enjoy horror, sci-fi, and dark fantasy, drawing impressive streaming numbers and box office revenue when they come to theaters.

While King's standalone novels tend to attract the most interest when adapted for the screen, several short stories have become successful and acclaimed projects. Children of the Corn, 1408, The Night Flier, and 1922 are just a few examples of such films, primarily from older King collections like Night Shift and Nightmares & Dreamscapes. In July 2020, his latest collection of novellas, If It Bleeds, garnered several option deals to adapt the stories. The first will be Mr. Harrigan's Phone, produced for Netflix by Jason Blum and Ryan Murphy. The plot revolves around a young man interacting with his older friend's spirit through an iPhone.

Related: Stephen King's If It Bleeds: Every Upcoming Story Adaptation Explained

King states that the movie adaptation of Mr. Harrigan's Phone is due out this fall and that he has seen the "close-to-finished" cut by writer-director John Lee Hancock (The Little Things), calling it "nothing short of brilliant." He points out cast members Donald Sutherland and Jaeden Martell, who play Mr. Harrigan and Craig, respectively. Check out the post below:

I have seen a close-to-finished cut of MR. HARRIGAN'S PHONE, written and directed by John Lee Hancock, and it's nothing short of brilliant. Donald Sutherland, Jaeden Martell. Netflix. This fall.

— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 12, 2022

Calling the film brilliant is high praise for the writer, who has been unabashedly critical of other adaptations of his work, most notably Stanley Kubrick's rendition of The Shining. Hancock's past work includes The Rookie, The Blind Side, and Saving Mr. Banks, highlighting his experience directing dramas about human relationships, a central theme of Mr. Harrigan's Phone. King should also be familiar with Sutherland and Martell - the former starred as Richard Straker in the 2004 remake of his classic novel, Salem's Lot, and Martell played the young Bill Denbrough in 2017's IT.

Fall should be the perfect time for Mr. Harrigan's Phone to release on Netflix given its supernatural tone, though the story contains fewer visceral horror elements than fans might expect from a classic King tale like Pet Sematary or Cujo. More than likely, Hancock will bring his humanist approach to the core duo of Mr. Harrigan and Craig and splice in aspects of supernatural horror and fantasy, like in the upcoming adaptation of The Talisman. King's positive words should still excite prospective viewers who value his seal of approval, probably indicating that Hancock's adaptation of Mr. Harrigan's Phone is well-executed as a film and a faithful interpretation of his novella.

Source: Stephen King