Mike Flanagan’s upcoming Stephen King movie starring Tom Hiddleston and Karen Gillan gets cryptic first look

Vanity Fair has shared the first look at The Life of Chuck, starring Tom Hiddleston.

The upcoming drama is directed by Mike Flanagan, who adapted the novella of the same name from Stephen King's 2020 collection If It Bleeds. Hiddleston plays Charles 'Chuck' Krantz who, beginning with his death, travels back through his entire life and ends with his childhood.

Thanks to VF, we also finally know (mostly) who's playing who: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) is a "school teacher trying to apply logic to the planet’s troubles;" Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) is Chuck's ex, "a hospital worker determined to save everyone she can; Matthew Lillard (Scream) is "a construction worker neighbor who finds zen amid the chaos;" Carl Lumbly (Alias), plays a funeral director "who has dedicated his life to easing people through death; with Mark Hamill and Mia Sara (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) as the grandparents who raised Chuck as a boy.

Additionally, Samantha Sloyan plays a dance instructor and Kate Siegel plays an English teacher who were both important to Chuck as a child.

"The way he [Mike Flanagan] works is so hands on and with deep love, which is really sweet when you consider how macabre his mind is, how dark the stories he tells can be," star David Dastmalchian told GamesRadar+ . "He's just this deeply loving human being and I think Life of Chuck really explores themes that are haunting and scary, but it's also very emotional in a way that I wasn't expecting."

The Life of Chuck is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, but does not yet have a distribution date. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond, or, skip right to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates .