Stephen King Declares Prime Video's Carrie Creator The Best Adaptor Of His Work

Published Oct 11, 2026, 10:12 AM EDT

Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 10 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with.

Stephen King has crowned his own prom queen/king.

King's debut novel, Carrie, was published in 1974, and since its release, it has inspired many films, TV, stage, and streaming adaptations. The story follows Carrie White, who is severely bullied in high school, with an abusive mother at home, while struggling to learn how to control her telekinetic powers. One of the first adaptations was released in 1976 by Brian De Palma, with Sissy Spacek taking on the tortured role of Carrie. Now, a new adaptation has entered the scene, which King declares is the best amongst the rest.

Mike Flanagan is known for his iconic, beloved, and deeply tragic horror series that helped reinvent the genre for streaming in a whole new way. Flanagan has recently released his own adaptation of Carrie with Prime Video, and it is another testament to how such a well-known story can be told differently through someone else's lens. Now, King has had his say on the new series and shared a video on X of him watching Prime Video's Carrie and stated:

"I hope that you'll do the same thing. It was directed by Mike Flanagan, and he is the best adapter of my work. And if you like this and enough people watch it, we might be doing something else that's really special. But I can't talk about it."

It is high praise from King, who has had many adaptations of his work for decades. There are reportedly over 80 to over 120 projects based on King's novels, with more than 50 theatrical movies, nearly 30 TV series, and so much more. Critics and audiences seem to agree with the author's sentiments, as the Rotten Tomatoes ratings for Carrie currently stand at 85% and 82%. Critics stated that "Flanagan has done a good job of engaging with and updating the Carrie myth. This is a confident, well-paced adaptation with all the vibrance and slickness of a bucket of blood."

ScreenRant's Jordan Williams shared her review and praised the actress who took on the iconic role of Carrie White by stating, "After Carrie, Summer H. Howell has undeniably cemented a place in the new generation of scream queens." Williams also added, "In addition to expanding the source material with story modernizations and deeper character explorations, Flanagan also takes some bold swings as he integrates certain book elements rarely seen in previous adaptations."

At the time of writing, it's unclear if Flanagan will return to create Carrie season 2, but he has shared that he is currently working on another King adaptation based on the Dark Tower series. While it's unclear when that will become reality, fans can hold out hope that this isn't the last King and Flanagan collaboration.

Carrie is available to stream now on Prime Video.

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  Summer H. Howell

  Carrie White

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  Samantha Sloyan

  Margaret White

In this new series adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel, Carrie White struggles through the daily torments of school life, her domineering mother, and a dormant  set of telekinetic powers.