The Life Of Chuck: Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know About The Stephen King Movie

The Life of Chuck is the upcoming movie from Mike Flanagan adapting the Stephen King novella of the same name from his 2020 collection If It Bleeds. As the тιтle suggests, the story tells the life of Charles “Chuck” Krantz, a man dying from a brain tumor. The story is told in reverse order, and is definitely among the more experimental of King’s works. Lacking much of King’s conventional horror storytelling, The Life of Chuck instead relies on King’s amazing work with character.

Mike Flanagan, the horror mastermind behind The Fall of the House of Usher, The Haunting of Hill House, and Midnight Mᴀss is directing the adaptation. The prospect of another Flanagan-directed King adaptation after 2017’s Gerald’s Game and 2019’s Doctor Sleep has already gained a lot of attention. Add in that The Life of Chuck‘s cast is led by the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and Karen Gillan, and the new horror film could be set to be one of the strongest Stephen King adaptations in recent memory.

Quick Links

    • The First Teaser Is Revealed
    • Mike Flanagan’s Third Stephen King Movie Is Coming In Summer 2025
    • Tom Hiddleston Leads An All-Star Cast
    • It’s Based On A Short Story From King’s Book If It Bleeds
    • Watch The First Teaser Trailer Below

Most Recent The Life Of Chuck News

The First Teaser Is Revealed


Tom Hiddleston as Chuck Krantz Smiling in The Life of Chuck

Months after the long-awaited film finally set a release date, the latest news arrives in the form of a teaser for The Life of Chuck. The minute-long teaser opens with an extended sH๏τ of a starry sky before cutting to Chuck as he walks down a crowded street. Throughout the teaser there is a ticking motif, referencing the ticking of a clock, a heart monitor, and a drummer. It then shows a few clips of Chuck at different stages of his life before ending with a scene of Chuck walking away from the camera while surrounded by a bustling crowd.

The Life Of Chuck Release Date

Mike Flanagan’s Third Stephen King Movie Is Coming In Summer 2025


A composite image of Mike Flanagan and Stephen King over Ewan McGregor from Doctor Sleep
Custom Image by SR Image Editor

The movie does open opposite Karate Kid: Legends, though it’s unlikely that the movies will have much overlap in their target audiences.

Because of its award-winning appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Life of Chuck has scored a distribution deal with NEON. The indie distributor behind hits like Longlegs and Cuckoo is set to release the movie theatrically on May 30, 2025, and it will likely have a relatively wide release. The movie does open opposite Karate Kid: Legends, though it’s unlikely that the movies will have much overlap in their target audiences.

The Life of Chuck had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.

The Life Of Chuck Cast Details

Tom Hiddleston Leads An All-Star Cast

The Life of Chuck cast is star-studded, although some cast details haven’t been revealed. Tom Hiddleston (Loki, Crimson Peak) will lead the cast as Charles “Chuck” Krantz, the central character of both the film and the original story in the novella collection If It Bleeds by Stephen King. Hiddleston will be joined by Mark Hamill (Batman: The Animated Series, Star Wars) as Albie, although no details about the character are known. Unlike other films which slowly mete out their cast list over time, an exhaustive list of stars has been revealed.

The entire known cast includes:

Actor

The Life of Chuck Role

Tom Hiddleston

Charles “Chuck” Krantz


Tom Hiddleston as Loki smiling at Tony Stark in The Avengers

Mark Hamill

Albie


Mark Hamill as Arthur Pym on The Fall of the House of Usher character poster

Nick Offerman

The Narrator


Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson in the office in Parks and Recreation

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Marty Anderson


Chiwetel Ejiofor's Mordo looking worried about Doctor Strange

Karen Gillan

Felicia Gordon


Karen Gillan in Sleeping Dogs 2

Jacob Tremblay

Young Chuck


Jacob Tremblay in The Toxic Avenger

Mia Sara

Sarah Krantz


A Closeup of Mia Sara as Sloane Peterson Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Matthew Lillard

Gus


Matthew Lillard as Steve Raglan on the Phone in Five Nights at Freddy's

Q’orianka Kilcher

Ginny Krantz


Yellowstone-Angela-Blue-Thunder-Q'orianka-Kilcher

Harvey Guillén

Unknown


Harvey Guillen as Guillermo de la Cruz holding a framed pH๏τo in What We Do In The Shadows

David Dastmalchian

Unknown


Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) screaming with two people and a spiral behind him in Late Night with the Devil

Kate Siegel

Miss Richards


Kate Siegel in Hush

Carl Lumbly

Sam Yarborough


Carl Lumbly in Doctor Sleep

Annalise Bᴀsso

Janice Halliday


Annalise Bᴀsso as Kaylie looking upset in Mike Flanagan's Oculus

Samantha Sloyan

Miss Rohrbacher


Samantha Sloyan Midnight Mᴀss (1)

Rahul Kohli

Bri


Rahul Kohli Screaming in Mike Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher

Matt Biedel

Unknown


Matt Biedel in Umbrella Academy

Sauriyan Sapkota

Unknown


Sauriyan Sapkota as Prospero Perry in The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Saidah Arrika Ekulona

Unknown


Toni with her arms crossed talking to someone in A League of Their Own.

Michael Trucco

Unknown


Michael Trucco as Luke Leone sitting on his couch and speaking to someone in Fire Country season 1, episode 8

Violet McGraw

Lily


Violet McGraw Haunting of Hill House young Nell

Molly Quinn

Chuck’s Mother


Molly C. Quinn as Jenny looking to the side in The Fall of the House of Usher

Heather Langenkamp

Vera


Heather Langenkamp as Dr. Georgina Stanton in The Midnight Club

Lauren LaVera

Unknown


Sienna (Lauren LaVera) looking directly to the camera in Terrifier 3

The Life Of Chuck Story Details

It’s Based On A Short Story From King’s Book If It Bleeds


Tom Hiddleston as Charles Krantz in The Life of Chuck poster sitting at his desk and smiling

Throughout the story, Chuck is dying from a brain tumor, and his perception of reality is slipping as his brain slowly ceases to function and that impacts how the story is told.

The Life of Chuck is based on a story from the 2020 Stephen King novella collection If It Bleeds. The novella The Life of Chuck is split into three acts, told in reverse chronological order, starting with the death of Chuck (Tom Hiddleston in the movie), then proceeding to showcase moments in his life, culminating with his childhood as an orphan in a supposedly haunted house.

Throughout the story, Chuck is dying from a brain tumor, and his perception of reality is slipping as his brain slowly ceases to function and that impacts how the story is told. Exactly how Mike Flanagan will adapt the source material for The Life of Chuck remains to be seen. Stephen King is notorious for being less-than-favorable when it comes to some movie adaptations of his work. However, with Mike Flanagan involved, it seems that The Life of Chuck has the ingredients to be among the better Stephen King movies.

The Life Of Chuck Trailer

Watch The First Teaser Trailer Below


Tom Hiddleston softly smiling in The Life of Chuck

With months to go before the movie’s release, a teaser for The Life of Chuck arrive in March 2025. Opening with a sH๏τ of a starry sky, the teaser then shows a ticking clock and a heart monitor as it beeps along in time. It then cuts to Chuck walking away from the camera on a crowded street before showing Chuck at various stages in his life. The teaser concludes with a high angle sH๏τ of Chuck standing in the street as life pᴀsses around him.

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