Carrie Trailer: Horror Master Mike Flanagan Brings Stephen King's First Story To Prime

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan has turned himself into Stephen King's creative heir as much as the horror master's literal sons, Joe Hill and Owen King. Flanagan's next project on the horizon? A TV show adaptation of King's first published novel "Carrie," which famously centers on a bullied teen girl with latent telekinesis who turns prom night into a bloodbath after a cruel prank pushes her over the edge. It's one of the saddest horror stories ever and a solid fit for Flanagan (who, much like King himself, mixes empathy for his characters with genuine scariness). Now, the first trailer for Flanagan's "Carrie" miniseries, due out on Prime Video, has debuted at San Diego Comic-Con.

The series will feature Summer H. Howell ("Curse of Chucky," "Night of the Reaper") as Carrie White, while frequent Flanagan collaborator Samantha Sloyan will play her abusive, fanatically religious mother Margaret White. Other cast members include Alison Thornton as mean girl Chris Hargensen, Amber Midthunder as gym teacher Rita Desjardin, Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, and Matthew Lillard as Principal Henry Grayle.

"Carrie" was the first book King ever wrote, and first made it to the screen in 1976 as a film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek (who went full method actor to land her iconic role as Carrie). De Palma's "Carrie" remains the high bar to clear; the 2002 "Carrie" TV movie (directed by David Carson, written by Bryan Fuller, and starring Angela Bettis) and the 2013 film (directed by Kimberly Peirce and starring Chloë Grace Moretz) both underwhelmed.

Flanagan, who is breaking his self-imposed rule of no sequels or remakes to helm "Carrie," is aware of what his version is up against. "The only way to approach it was to build something new out of the ingredients of 'Carrie.' Otherwise, there's really no purpose in trying to retread ground that's been so beautifully walked before," he told Entertainment Weekly.

Prime Video

The official press release calls the "Carrie" series a "bold, timely, and surprising reinvention of this classic coming-of-age story," and the trailer gives us a glimpse at how Mike Flanagan is updating the material for the modern era. He's directing four of the eight episodes of the show, and we're eager to see how it's in conversation with both the Stephen King novel and Brian De Palma's classic film. Here's the series' official synopsis:

Misfit high‑schooler Carrie White (Summer H. Howell) has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan). After her father's sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social‑media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.

Told over eight propulsive episodes, the series expands King's cultural landmark — deepening its characters and tensions, and following the small, everyday choices that build toward a single, shattering night, in a gripping, deeply human story about kindness versus cruelty, and whether we're witnessing the making of a hero, a monster, or something far more complicated.

The rest of the cast is rounded out by Joel Oulette ("My Life with the Walter Boys") as Tommy Ross, Josie Totah ("The Buccaneers") as Tina, Arthur Conti ("Beetlejuice Beetlejuice") as Billy, and Thalia Dudek ("The Running Man") as Emaline.

"Carrie" hits Prime Video on October 7, 2026.