'I Am Legend' Writer To Take On The Overlook Hotel In 'The Shining' Sequel!

Heeeeeeeere's Johnny...well not quite. 36 years after Stanley Kubrick's chilling holiday jaunt hit our screens, it looks like we could be once again returning to the world of The Shining.

I Am Legend writer Akiva Goldsman is attached to pen the script, based on Stephen King's follow-up book, Dr. Sleep. Years on from the terrifying events of The Shining, Dr. Sleep follows Jack Torrance's son Danny as he enters middle age - struggling with rage, alcoholism and his psychic abilities.

Settled into a New Hampshire town (and haunted by the ghosts of his past), Danny's powers create a bond with 12-year-old Abra Stone. He must save Abra from an angry tribe of paranormals led by the sinister Rose the Hat. Whilst Dr. Sleep is in the early stages there is no news on casting, but original star Danny Lloyd is the right age to pick up the Torrance mantle once more. Lloyd starred in a few other projects since 1980, but retired from acting 1982; he now teaches as a biology professor in Kentucky.

Fans of the Overlook Hotel and Jack Nicholson shouldn't get too excited either though. Stephen King was famously unimpressed with Stanley Kubrick's adaption of The Shining and was often critical of Nicholson's performance - despite being frequently ranked as one of the greatest villains of all time. Whilst both the hotel and the ghost of Jack Torrance play a part Dr. Sleep, the majority of the book takes Danny on a different path.

Due to King's dissatisfaction of the 1980 version, he served as a writer on the The Shining when it was remade as a 1997 TV miniseries. After that it looked like the doors to Overlook would remain closed, as King has always resisted the pressure to write a Shining sequel. Finally caving to pressure, King published Dr. Sleep in 2013, where it went on to win the Bram Stoker award for Best Novel and be an international best seller. With King himself rumoured as an executive producer on the Dr. Sleep project, could it be second time lucky for his source material?

Goldsman has an impressive catalogue of cinematic credentials, including his oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, as well as I Robot, The Da Vinci Code and the three upcoming Transformers films. Meanwhile Dr. Sleep joins the cinematic slate of several King novels in the works, including Cell, The Dark Tower and a remake/reboot of clown classic It. No release date or further details on Dr. Sleep are around at the moment, but with Academy Award Winner Goldsman on board alongside King, hopes are high for a 'bloody' good scare.