The 'Life of Chuck' Trailer Feels Magical & Life Affirming
Tom Hiddleston in the "Life of Chuck" trailer
(Photo: NEON)
Though most people likely associate the name Stephen King with his popular horror novels, like Carrie, The Stand, or Pet Sematary, he’s also the mind behind heartwrenching stories of humanity, such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. If the trailer is anything to go by, the forthcoming King adaptation The Life of Chuck is firmly in that latter category.
(Reader, I cried watching it.)
As you might expect from the title, The Life of Chuck revolves around the story of a single man: Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz. Played by Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager), the movie follows his life in reverse chronological order over three acts, from his death at the age of 39 to his childhood, as he experiences love and loss.
(Obviously, there is more to the story than this, but explaining it would mean ruining some of the wonder you should see for yourself.)
The film hails from Mike Flanagan, best known for his assortment of Netflix horror series that wrestle with the many things that scare us. These series mine our deepest emotional fears and all-too-human desires for the kind of real-life nightmare fuel that’s more frightening than any monster. His takes on classics like The Haunting of Bly Manor are inventive and richly layered. While his Midnight Mass is technically a bloody story about vampires, it’s also one of the most profound meditations on faith we’ve seen on the small screen in recent years.
His work contains multitudes, is what I’m saying. It is why he’s the perfect person to tackle this strange and heartfelt tale of life, death, and all the meaningful bits that happen in between.
Here's the film's synopsis.
From the hearts and minds of Stephen King and Mike Flanagan comes THE LIFE OF CHUCK, the extraordinary story of an ordinary man. This unforgettable, genre-bending tale celebrates the life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
Alongside Hiddleston, the film boasts a murderer's row of both British and American talent, including Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Karen Gillan (Douglas Is Cancelled) as divorced couple Marty and Felicia, whose world is turned upside down by the mystery of Chuck Krantz. Iconic American actors Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Mia Sara (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) portray Chuck's grandparents, Sarah and Albie; Benjamin Pajak (The Stolen Girl), Jacob Tremblay (Room), and Michael's son Cody Flanagan all play different versions of the film's titular character. Nick Offerman (The Last of Us) is the story's narrator.
Other familiar faces (and Flana-verse regulars) in the ensemble cast include British actor Rahul Kohli (EastEnders), and American actors Kate Siegel (The Time Traveler's Wife), Hamish Linklater (Manhunt), Q’orianka Kilcher (The Alienist), David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer), Heather Langenkamp (Star Trek Into Darkness), Matthew Lillard (Daredevil: Born Again), Samantha Sloyan (The Pitt), Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), Annalise Basso (Snowpiercer), Carl Lumbly (Captain America: Brave New World), and Michael Trucco (The Electric State).
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2024, where it won the People's Choice Award. Flanagan adapted the screenplay from King's novella of the same name, which appeared in the 2020 anthology If It Bleeds. He also directed and executive produced the film alongside Trevor Macy.
The Life of Chuck will be released in theaters on Friday, June 6, 2025.
