Released in October 2018, “The Haunting of Hill House” instantly proved to not just be one of Netflix’s most critically acclaimed series yet, but undoubtedly its scariest.
Which was hardly a surprise considering it was created, produced, partly written and entirely directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mike Flanagan, who handled the adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s beloved 1959 gothic horror novel with such aplomb that it was hardly a surprise when Netflix quickly announced a second season.
Metro recently had the chance to sit down with Mike Flanagan to discuss his work on Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep,” and towards the end of our chat we asked him straight out, “When is the second season of ‘Haunting of Hill House’ on Netflix?”
Flanagan responded, “I actually left the set of ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ to come and do this press junket. We’re about a third of the way through production. I don’t know what date Netflix has in mind, but my expectation is that it will be a similar window to the one we released the first season in.”
So we can expect “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” which is based Henry James’ 1898 novel “The Turn of the Screw,” to arrive on Netflix in October 2020. Clearly, Flanagan is very excited by the work they’re doing on it, too.
“I think this season is pretty amazing. And so scary. Scarier to me than the first season, I learned a lot doing those episodes that I get to implement now.”
However, “The Haunting of Bly Manor” isn’t just based on one of James’ novels, as it will instead focus on much more of the acclaimed novelist’s horror work.
“The coolest thing about it is that we are basing the whole season on the writings of Henry James. ‘The Turn of the Screw’ is our way into that. But it has been adapted so many times over the years, and really beautifully in some cases, so I was really nervous at first, thinking, ‘Oh my God, we are in such well worn territory.'”
“That made us decide to open up the library to all of Henry James’ ghost stories, many of which have never been adapted, but all of which fit together beautifully. Our season is informed by all of it, and people are going to see things from classic horror literature that they’ve never seen on the big screen or small screen before. That is so exciting to me.”
Having directed the likes of “Oculus,” “Hush,” “Before I Wake,” “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” and “Gerald’s Game,” as well as “Doctor Sleep” and “Haunting of Hill House,” Flanagan has long proven himself to be one of the most impressive horror directors in cinema today. But rather than using horror as a cinematic stepping stone, he has no plans of working in any other genre.
“I have no desire to get out of the genre. If I only make horror films for the rest of my career I will be lucky. I am attracted to stories based on the characters. There is something about the characters that strikes at my heart. That is what makes me want to tell the story.”
“I could definitely see that taking me out of the genre. For the right story, for the right characters. But that isn’t a goal of mine. I am not actively trying to find a way out. I am open to it, but I am in no hurry to go anywhere.”
Which makes it all the more fascinating that Flanagan originally signed up to direct “Doctor Sleep” after having a meeting at Warner Bros. to discuss his potential involvement in the DC Universe. The conversation soon turned to his take on Stephen King’s 2013 novel instead, and although Flanagan didn’t even get the chance to discuss the DC character he was interested in at the time, he now knows who he’d potentially like to focus on.
“There are so many things I love from that universe, the big ones like Joker, Batman, Superman, all of which are perfectly spoken for and doing well without me. The one that has been in my head this week, and I would have brought up if the conversation had kept going was Constantine. I adore that character.”
“That would have been a really cool conversation. But for the record I have had no conversation on that with Warner Bros. at all. But if we did talk again, that would be the name I’d put out there.”
