New ‘Castle Rock’ Trailer Is Packed With Stephen King Easter Eggs
In just a couple of weeks, Hulu is taking Stephen King fans back to Castle Rock — the fictional Maine town where many of the author’s horror classics are set — for a new series from producer J.J. Abrams. The latest trailer for Castle Rock is, as you might suspect, filled with Easter eggs for various stories in the King universe.
As evidenced by the excellent ensemble and the mysterious, foreboding story teased in the new trailer, Castle Rock is more than just a collection of references — even though those are definitely cool. I’ve spoken with a few critic friends who have watched a handful of episodes, and from what I hear, this might just be our big summer TV obsession. The cast includes Andre Holland, Scott Glenn, Melanie Lynskey, Terry O’Quinn (LOST), and a few actors who are already very familiar with the King-iverse: Bill Skarsgard (who plays Pennywise in the new IT), Chosen Jacobs (who plays young Mike Hanlon in IT), and Sissy Spacek — who starred in Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of King’s debut novel, Carrie.
King hasn’t written a full novel set in Castle Rock since Needful Things, though he did release a novella (co-written with Richard Chizmar) last year titled Gwendy’s Button Box, which takes place in the fictional town and is set in the ’70s.
Castle Rock isn’t based on any one King story, though there are references to several of his works: A newspaper clipping that mentions a rabid dog attack (Cujo), mention of Shawshank Prison (The Shawshank Redemption), the Juniper Hill asylum (IT), and a few more that eagle-eyed King viewers will undoubtedly spot. Most of these appear to be a bit subtle, which is good because I really don’t want an entire series where every episode is just a collection of obnoxious “REMEMBER THIS?” references.
Castle Rock will debut on Hulu on July 25.