The New 'Life of Chuck' Trailer Is Here, And You Will Cry
My most anticipated movie of the year
Stephen King and Mike Flanagan fans, rejoice! We are one day closer to the release date for Flanagan’s film “Life of Chuck,” adapted from King’s novella of the same name.
The official trailer for the film dropped earlier today, and I couldn’t click that YouTube link fast enough once I saw it was out. This has been at the top of my watchlist ever since I heard Flanagan was adapting the story. Neon Studios unexpectedly teased the trailer on social media yesterday (and have been doing a lot of fun real-world marketing for the film as well).
The movie, without giving anything away, is a lot like “It’s a Wonderful Life” (and that’s even a selling point in one of the pull quotes).
Take a look, with some of my thoughts below:
Some quick takeaways:
I cried reading the novella, I cried watching the teaser trailer, and I cried at this new trailer. I think I’m just going to bring tissues to the theater with me in June.
Nick Offerman is the film’s voice-over narrator, but this trailer goes with Mark Hamill for the emotional speech. Nice.
This looks so joyful. I’m not surprised, but it’s nice to see.
I love that this trailer (and the teaser before it) gives nothing away about the actual plot of the novella. No spoilers, but I’m impressed at how well the marketing has played the plot close to vest while absolutely nailing the tone.
“From the mind” of Stephen King and from the “heart and soul” of Mike Flanagan. Again, Neon Studios is great at marketing. (Also see: “Longlegs.”)
I also love the clearly targeted decsion through the King references - “Stand By Me,” “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile” - that this will not be Scary King. This is Human Interest King, the one who spends paragraphs talking about a character’s day and what they had for dinner the night they met the love of their life. (Indeed, the story is one of the most life-affirming things I’ve ever read. Go read it!)
Flanagan grew up Christian in the ‘80s. I don’t think it’s a stretch to think the design for Mark Hamill’s grandpa character was probably based off of John Avery Whittaker from “Adventures in Odyssey.”
This trailer features most of the cast but still doesn’t feature everyone. I love how Flanagan has built his own little troupe over the years.
Mia Sara. That is all.
Rated “R” for “language.” Hell yeah.
I’m sad that it won’t hit wide release until June 13, but that just means Neon has faith in this as a summer competitor.
If you want to read more about the film’s set, and the shooting of the dance sequence in the middle of the film, buy a physical copy of the latest issue of Fangoria Magazine here. It features a set visit from the late, great Scott Wampler, to whom Flanagan dedicated the film.
I’ll hopefully have some more writing about this film leading up to its release date. See you then!