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Mike Flanagan Teases ‘More Literary’ Take on Doctor Sleep in Director’s Cut

December 21, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Doctor Sleep Ewan McGregor Image Credit: Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros.

Doctor Sleep didn’t make the waves that Warner Bros. wanted at the box office, but it’ could still find a place with audiences on home video. Mike Flanagan discussed the home video release of the film in a new interview with Collider and said that the director’s cut has a “more literary” feel.

Mike Flanagan says the home video director’s cut of Doctor Sleep is a “more literary” version of the Shining sequel.

Just yesterday it was announced that Mike Flanagan’s DOCTOR SLEEP would be coming to Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD in February with a brand-new three-hour Director’s Cut. That’s a lot of movie. The Director’s Cut is said to feature nearly 30 minutes of new, alternate, and extended scenes selected by Mike Flanagan which weren’t seen in theaters, and Flanagan recently spoke with Collider to offer a little tease about the contents of this new cut.

“There are some big new scenes, for sure,” Flanagan said. “I don’t want to spoil any of that, but I can say that there is new material throughout (including in the final act at the Overlook). Some of my favorite stuff involved Young Danny and Wendy (there’s some terrific material with Alex Essoe that I’m thrilled is restored here), and will be familiar to fans of the book. There’s also a fair amount of new stuff involving young Abra in the film’s first act, learning about her shine, and how it affects her parents.”

He added, “All in all, I think this cut is more literary than the theatrical cut. It very much feels like reading a novel… and is even broken into chapters, which gave this cut a very fun structure. I’m very proud of it and so grateful that it’ll be available to fans.”

The home video release of the film hits Digital on January 21, 2020, with the DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD release coming on February 4, 2020.