If the big ol' “REDRUM” on thefirst posterdidn’t clue you in thatDoctor Sleepis a sequel toThe Shining, two new posters forMike Flanagan’s next film make it abundantly clear with some color-work, an eye through an ax-hole, and a tiny bike in a familiar hotel hallway.
The most obvious comparison point here is theiconic theatrical posterforStanley Kubrick’sThe Shiningdesigned by one of the GOATs,Saul Bass. The first newDoctor Sleepposter borrows the vibrant yellow color scheme put to jarring use by Bass while also making a reference toJack Nicholson’s famous “Here’s Johnny!” moment withEwan Mcgregor’s grown-up Danny Torrance peering through a chopped slice in a door.
The second poster goes the blood-red route but also positions McGregor’s adult Danny directly in front of his younger self, riding that four-wheel through the halls of the Overlook. This tracks, considering whenwe spoke to Flanagan on set, the filmmaker made it clear that hisDoctor Sleepis somehow a continuation of both Kubrik’s film andStephen King’s original novel.
Check out both posters below.Doctor Sleep—which also starsRebecca Ferguson,Jacob Tremblay,Cliff Curtis, andBruce Greenwood— hits theaters on November 8. You can check out the trailer righthere.
Here is the official synopsis forDoctor Sleep:
Still irrevocably scarred by the trauma he endured as a child at the Overlook, Dan Torrance has fought to find some semblance of peace. But that peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, courageous teenager with her own powerful extrasensory gift, known as the “shine.” Instinctively recognizing that Dan shares her power, Abra has sought him out, desperate for his help against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the shine of innocents in their quest for immortality.
Forming an unlikely alliance, Dan and Abra engage in a brutal life-or-death battle with Rose. Abra’s innocence and fearless embrace of her shine compel Dan to call upon his own powers as never before — at once facing his fears and reawakening ghosts of the past.
