Mike Flanagan’s ‘Carrie’ Will Introduce More Telekinetic Characters

One of the biggest surprises to come out of Entertainment Weekly’s extensive first look at Mike Flanagan‘s upcoming Carrie series isn’t the casting, the first images, or even the October 2026 release window.

It’s the revelation that Flanagan isn’t simply retelling Stephen King‘s classic novel.

He’s expanding it.

According to EW, the 8-episode Prime Video series will introduce multiple women from different time periods who possess telekinetic abilities, dramatically broadening the mythology established in King’s original 1974 novel.

“Stephen King also talks about the ‘TK gene’ [for telekinesis] and the science behind Carrie’s abilities,” Flanagan says. “Something that the De Palma adaptation ignored was Carrie’s place in the larger universe, that she’s part of a sorority of very gifted women and just doesn’t know it. The book absolutely points at that, but that was something we could pick up and run with.”

Beginning with episode 2, each installment of the season will, according to the showrunner, open with “a different, unique story of a different woman, somewhere else in the world and in time, coming to terms with their own abilities.” He notes, “Carrie’s specific place among that group of women is part of the real joy that we get to discover over the course of the season.”

It’s a fascinating creative decision, and one that makes perfect sense for television.

Rather than attempting to remake Brian De Palma‘s beloved 1976 adaptation, Flanagan has repeatedly said he wanted to create something new. As he told EW, “The movie exists, and it’s a masterpiece.”

Instead of competing with one of horror’s most celebrated films, Flanagan appears to be asking a different question entirely: What if Carrie White wasn’t the only person this ever happened to?