Stephen King’s latest bestseller If It Bleeds may bring fans another season of HBO’s The Outsider.
If It Bleeds actually contains four novellas rather than one story. The fourth installment, Let It Bleed, features a character familiar to King fans: Holly Gibney.
Prior to Let It Bleed, Holly Gibney most recently appeared in King’s novel The Outsider. HBO adapted the novel to a miniseries with Cynthia Erivo playing Holly. Holly is important to the plot of The Outsider, but not the main protagonist. Let It Bleed could serve as a good jumping off point for a second season focused on Holly.
Before The Outsider, Holly was already a part of the King-verse. Mr. Mercedes introduced us to the character, who also appeared in the follow ups Finders Keepers and End of Watch. These novels became the three seasons of the show Mr. Mercedes on Audience Network. Since Audience Network shut down in May, it seems unlikely that Let It Bleed will be absorbed into the Mr. Mercedes series.
If The Outsider did opt to continue using Let It Bleed, the season would follow Detective Holly Gibney as she investigates something off about a late-night news correspondent.
Four stories, four adaptations?
The stories within If It Bleeds have actually been optioned separately.
In addition to a potential new season for The Outsider, the three additional tales are in development as films.
The first story, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, attracted the attention of Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy, who will develop the film for Netflix. The story follows a teenager who receives a text message from beyond the grave. John Lee Hancock will adapt and direct.
Ben Stiller optioned Rat. He intends to produce, direct, and star in the feature. The story follows a man who makes a deadly deal with a rat to cure his writer’s block.
Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa optioned The Life of Chuck, a story of a man’s life told in reverse at his deathbed.
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Source: Deadline
