Hulu brought Stephen King‘s cinematic universe to life with the anthology series “Castle Rock“. After a successful first season the series was renewed and now the first details of season two have begun to surface including several cast members, who they will be playing, and a few other tidbits.
Tim Robbins makes his return to the King universe after starring in the classic adaptation Shawshank Redemption. He will play Reginald “Pop” Merrill, a character from The Sun Dog, part of King’s 1990 Past Midnight collection. In “Castle Rock” Pop is at odds with is crime family and he’s dying. John “Ace” Merrill is taking over his uncle Pop’s business and threatening the peace with Jerusalem’s Lot and his brother’s Alan and Chris. Ace is a character from two of King’s stories, Needful Things and in Stand by Me where he was played by Kiefer Sutherland.
The character of Dr. Nadia Omar, a Harvard-trained Somali medical director in Jerusalem’s Lot, will be played by Yusra Warsama. Barkhad Abdi has been cast as Abdi Omar, Nadia’s older brother who takes charge of building the new Somali community center in Maine.
Lizzy Caplan will star this season as Annie Wilkes, the psychotic nurse that was played by Kathy Bates in the 1990 feature film adaptation directed by Rob Reiner. Annie is struggling to overcome her obsessions and mental issues in Castle Rock, all while raising her teenage daughter Joy who has begun to question her mother’s sanity.
Elsie Fisher, Garrett Hedlund, and Mathew Alan have also joined the cast of “Castle Rock” for this season.
As for Jerusalem’s Lot, mentioned in this season’s character descriptions, here’s what you need to know:
Jerusalem’s Lot is the title of a short story that appeared in King’s 1978 collection Night Shift. In the tale, Charles Boone has taken up residence in his family’s dilapidated mansion. Prompted by the inexplicable shunning he receives from the local village and the mysterious sounds coming from the mansion’s walls, Boone and his manservant Calvin McCann begin to investigate the Boone family history and a dark secret that lies buried beneath the ghost town of Jerusalem’s Lot.
As soon as the premiere date is announced we’ll let you know. In the meantime, watch season one of “Castle Rock” now on Hulu.
