Doctor Sleep is headed back to Netflix in the U.S. on October 15, 2026, which gives viewers another shot at Mike Flanagan’s 2019 sequel, the one that connects Stephen King’s The Shining to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film.
Part of what makes Doctor Sleep so interesting is the history behind it. Stephen King spent years criticizing Kubrick’s version of The Shining, especially Jack Nicholson’s casting, the way Wendy Torrance was written and played in what King saw as a misogynistic portrayal, and the fact that Jack’s slow, tragic unraveling was mostly stripped out. King even said Martin Sheen was closer to what he had in mind. That’s why it lands a little differently when the same King later said Doctor Sleep “redeems” Kubrick’s movie.
Flanagan pulled from both sources, King’s book and Kubrick’s visual language, and somehow made them live in the same film. The story follows an adult Danny Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, still carrying the Overlook with him, along with the damage from his father’s abuse and the rest of that childhood trauma. He uses his psychic ability to comfort dying patients, then gets pulled into a fight alongside Abra against the True Knot.
For anyone who keeps up with Stephen King adaptations, this one’s well worth revisiting. The film is Certified Fresh, $72.3 million worldwide on a $45 million budget, and feels even more relevant now, with Mike Flanagan’s Carrie hitting Prime Video this October, The Life of Chuck already out, and The Dark Tower still making its way through development.
You can stream Doctor Sleep on Netflix in the U.S. starting October 15. It had left the service on January 1, 2026.
Author: Emmanuel Bosque
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