Mike Flanagan's Next Horror Project Can Only Be This Cult Classic

Published Oct 16, 2026, 1:19 PM EDT

Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry.

Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself with his dramatic and often disturbing limited series. The filmmaker often looks to classic literature for inspiration, from Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House to his recent reimagining of Stephen King's Carrie. Just a few days ago, Flanagan announced his current project, an adaptation of King's The Dark Tower.

Flanagan likely has many more literary works in mind for future projects. But there's one title that seems like a logical next step for the director: Robert W. Chambers' The King in Yellow. Flanagan's cinematic prowess would do amazing with the old short story collection, which has already inspired countless artists and works. It's such a perfect match, that a new adaptation by the filmmaker would create a bridge between literature, film, and even video games.

The King In Yellow Should Get The Flanagan Treatment

The King in Yellow is a collection of short stories originally published in 1895 (available on Amazon). Chambers himself was influenced by Ambrose Bierse's short stories about the mysterious land of Carcosa.

It's an odd anthology, including stories and poems in a wide range of genres, like experimental supernatural horror and whimsical romances.An undercurrent of something sinister connects all the stories, with references to a mysterious symbol called the Yellow Sign.

The first four macabre tales, in particular, center around the titular King in Yellow—or rather around a play about the King. In these stories, several characters encounter strange occurrences after reading the play (which we only get to see through quotes and snippets).

One man has delusions of grandeur and believes himself to be the king of America. Another encounters a mysterious liquid that turns items into marble fakes of themselves. Still another follows a mysterious man from a church, only to wake up right back in the church.

If you think that sounds downright Lovecraftian, you're absolutely right: H.P. Lovecraft listed this book as one of his inspirations when he wrote his eldritch classics several decades later. The focus on human nature in light of the odd and supernatural practically screams for a Mike Flanagan's adaptation.

The King In Yellow Is Already Connected To Flanagan

Even if you don't know The King in Yellow by name, you're probably familiar with it. Modern media is full of references to the stories and the King himself. The entire first season of True Detective, for instance, is heavily inspired by the tales. Plenty of other media alludes to the tales, from the board game Carcosa, to the Xanthous King from the video game Dark Souls.

There is one game, though, that derives its lore and story almost entirely from The King in Yellow: Housemarque's epic tale of Saros. The game is a science fiction title about a space crew sent to the planet of Carcosa after the previous expeditions mysteriously went silent.

As the main character investigates the strange happenings on the planet, he finds himself being reborn over and over out of a mysterious liquid. He battles strange creatures in an ever-shifting landscape as he tries to figure out what happened on the planet, what's going on with his crew members, and what it all has to do with his own wife and secrets.

The connection to The King in Yellow is pretty obvious. But here's where the connection to Flanagan also becomes obvious: Saros stars Rahul Kohli, a regular contributor to Flanagan's horror series.

Saros is just one take on the strange stories of the King. The beauty of the King in Yellow tales is that they can morph and take many forms, just like how we've come to think of a certain type of monster as "Eldritch." There are many possibilities for expanding the universe of the strange story collection, and Flanagan has already shown through his take on Edgar Allan Poe's tales, that he's an expert at weaving seemingly unrelated stories into a coherent narrative.

Mike Flanagan would surely bring tales of Carcosa and the King into a whole new light if he ever adapted the work into a series. And it would truly bring the series full circle if the adaptation also featured Flaganan works regular, Rahul Kohli.