Mike Flanagan's 'The Life of Chuck' Trailer Seems a Surrealist Fantasy

Netflix doesn't have a singular brand like Disney+; there's no programming throughline other than "if we throw it against the wall and it sticks, we probably make two more seasons!" While this makes marketing nebulous, it does mean the streaming service has accidentally produced several singular talents in various genres. Millie Bobby Brown, for example, is already heading to future dame-hood for her breakout roles, while Bridgerton is creating a whole new generation of British A-listers. Then there's the horror genre, where Netflix has turned writer/director Mike Flanagan into a household name. However, Flanagan has already started moving beyond the "Tudum" with his new feature film The Life of Chuck.

Flanagan's milieu at Netflix was making new horror classics with a recurring stable of actors, not unlike Ryan Murphy over at FX with American Horror Story. His successes include the 2018-2022 run of The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club. But even by the early 2020s, Flanagan had started taking a more literary turn; his last project at Netflix was 2023's The Fall of the House of Usher, an adaptation of the Edgar Allen Poe story. Moreover, before his Netflix success, Flanagan's last project was an adaptation of the Stephen King story, Gerald's Game.

So it's actually not that surprising that Flanagan's return to film is another King adaptation, though of a much lesser-known story. The Life of Chuck was only published in the last few years, one of King's older works that just never made it out to the public. It's also not precisely horror? Check out the trailer, and you'll see what I mean.

Here's the film's synopsis:

The world feels like it’s ending, and everybody’s saying goodbye to Chuck. Wherever Marty goes, he can’t get away from Charles Krantz. His face is showing up on billboards, window signs — even TV commercials. What’s so special about this seemingly ordinary accountant, and why does he warrant such a sendoff?

Their connection includes Marty’s ex-wife, co-worker, neighbor, and everyone else they know. Chuck’s life story soon begins to unravel in front of us, going back to a childhood with grandfather Albie, who teaches him about accounting and passes on a love for dancing, all the while keeping him from a prophetic secret in the attic.

Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager) stars as the titular Chuck, with Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Man Who Fell To Earth) as Marty, the man who cannot escape him. The rest of the cast includes Brits Karen Gillan (Douglas is Cancelled) and Rahul Kohli (The Fall of the House of Usher), plus a who's who of America talent including (but not limited to) Kate Siegel (The Time Traveler's Wife), Nick Offerman (The Last of Us), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Hamish Linklater (Manhunt), David Dastmalchian (Oppenheimer), Annalise Basso (Snowpiercer), Matthew Lillard (Twin Peaks), Mia Sara (Dorothy & the Witches of Oz), Carl Lumbly (Captain America: Brave New World), and Jacob Tremblay (Room).

Flanagan adapted the screenplay from Stephen King's novella of the same name, published as part of the 2020 anthology If It Bleeds. He also directed and executive produced the film alongside his usual partner, Trevor Macy.

The Life of Chuck will open in U.S. theaters on Friday, June 6, 2025.