Ewan to play Dr Sleep in The Shining sequel

Actor Ewan McGregor is all set to star in a film adaptation of the Stephen King novel, Doctor Sleep.

Published in 2013, Doctor Sleep is the sequel to King’s The Shining, which was adapted in 1977 by Stanley Kubrick for a film by the same name, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall.

The new film, to be directed by Mike Flanagan, will feature 47-year-old McGregor as Danny Torrance, the grownup son of Nicholson’s character, who in the original movie had psychic powers and watched his dad descend into a murderous rage, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Flanagan had previously directed another one of King’s adaptations, Gerald’s Game, for a streaming platform.

The story follows Danny, who is an angry alcoholic dealing with his re-emerging psychic powers by working in a hospice. There, he helps dying patients and earns the nickname, Dr Sleep. Into his life comes Abra Stone, a little girl with psychic abilities of her own, and Torrance finds himself caught up in a battle with a group of murderous kidnappers that want her essence. Danny Lloyd had portrayed a young Danny Torrance in Kubrick’s film.

McGregor will also be seen in Disney’s Christopher Robin, the adaptation of Winnie the Pooh.

PUBLISHED IN 2013, DOCTOR SLEEP IS THE SEQUEL TO STEPHEN KING’S NOVEL, THE SHINING, WHICH WAS ADAPTED IN 1977 BY STANLEY KUBRICK FOR A FILM

PHOTO: EVAN AGOSTINI/INVISION/AP Actor Ewan McGregor