Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for The Monkey.Director Osgood Perkins’s horror comedy film, The Monkey, has packed many surprises into its story about a toy monkey magically killing people in such ultraviolent ways. This adaptation of Stephen King’s short story made a surprising reference to one of the most iconic characters created by King: Annie Wilkes. First appearing in the 1987 book Misery, Annie Wilkes is an obsessive fan of author Paul Sheldon and a serial killer who holds him captive after rescuing him from a car wreck so he can rewrite his next book.

2025’s The Monkey references Annie Wilkes through one of the film’s side characters, who appears for a short time while Hal and Bill are still children. This character in The Monkey is very different from Paul Sheldon’s murderous superfan in Misery. However, by name-dropping one of the most iconic villains from Stephen King’s books, The Monkey implies a lot about its place in the universe created by King. Her inclusion in The Monkey is also a welcome Easter Egg, given the character’s popularity following Kathy Bates’s performance as her in the 1990 film Misery.

The Monkey’s Babysitter Is Named Annie Wilkes, Just Like Misery’s Character

The Monkey’s Annie Shares The Name Of One Of Stephen King’s Most Famous Characters

Early in 2025’s The Monkey, the young Hal and Bill have a babysitter named Annie, played by actor Danica Dreyer, who takes them to a hibachi restaurant for dinner while their mother is out. However, the boys’ meal out with Annie occurs just after they turn the monkey’s key for the first time, which leads to her becoming one of its first victims in the film. Though Annie briefly appeared in the movie, her death leaves a lasting scar on Hal and Bill, especially since the latter had a crush on her.

Annie’s character becomes even more memorable once The Monkey reveals her last name after her shocking death. Specifically, when Hal and Bill attend their babysitter’s funeral, the pastor states to everyone that her full name is “Annie Wilkes,” just like the villainous character in Misery. Based on their shared names, Annie’s appearance in The Monkey made for a surprising cameo in a film so different from Misery.

Is The Monkey’s Annie Wilkes The Same Character From Misery?

The Monkey’s Annie Wilkes Has A Very Different Story

Given the fate of Annie Wilkes in The Monkey, it is clear she isn’t the same character as Annie Wilkes in Misery. For one thing, Annie is decapitated by a hibachi chef in an accident caused by the killer toy’s power. Though Annie is killed by Paul Sheldon at the end of Misery, the character is shown to have lived far into adulthood when she died. Meanwhile, The Monkey‘s version of Annie is still a teenager by the time she gets put in a coffin.

Though Annie had such a brief appearance in The Monkey, her character didn’t seem to display the cruel and murderous tendencies of her older counterpart in Misery. However, she could’ve been hiding her true darkness behind her smiling exterior just as she did in Misery. Who’s to say that Annie wasn’t planning on killing Hal and Bill the night she died while their mom was out? The monkey might’ve saved their lives that night by killing Annie when it did.

Is Annie Wilkes In Stephen King’s The Monkey Short Story?

Annie Wilkes Is One Of Many Changes Made For 2025’s The Monkey

Stephen King has often included notable characters from his stories, such as Randall Flagg, Pennywise, and Father Callahan, in his other works. Since Annie Wilkes is one of his most popular creations, the character has appeared in many of the author’s stories outside of Misery since her debut. Actor Lizzy Caplan even played a younger version of her in the Hulu series Castle Rock. However, Annie does not appear in the King’s short story version of The Monkey, nor is she referenced in the text.

Ultimately, Annie Wilkes is one of the many creative changes Perkins made while filming The Monkey. This can be attributed to the age of the source material, as the short story was published in 1980, seven years before King published Misery. Since the world of Stephen King’s interconnected stories has grown so much over the years, it’s no surprise that Perkins chose to reference one of King’s newer creations in his modern adaptation of The Monkey.

The Monkey’s Annie Wilkes Expands The Stephen King Universe

The Monkey Adds Another Link Between The Worlds of Stephen King

Like Stephen King’s books, many of the films and shows based on the author’s works have referenced each other over the years. For instance, Frank Darabont’s adaptation of The Mist, a story that debuted in Skeleton Crew with The Monkey, featured a painting of the gunslinger Roland Deschain from King’s The Dark Tower franchise. Considering how King’s stories exist in a multiverse united by The Dark Tower saga, The Monkey‘s interpretation of Annie could be an alternate version of Annie Wilkes in Misery.

The Monkey‘s existence in a universe separate from Misery explains why Annie dies much younger than the version of her in the latter story. It also explains why Annie seems to have a kinder personality than her more murderous counterpart in Misery. Despite the differences Perkins made to The Monkey‘s story, Annie Wilkes’s inclusion in the film is a reminder that the movie still exists in the Steven King multiverse.

All in all, The Monkey‘s babysitter version of Annie Wilkes is a small, tongue-in-cheek reference to a popular Stephen King character. Her character doesn’t have a significant impact on the story, but her death says a lot about the toy monkey’s supernatural powers. It also proves that the Annie Wilkes in this film is not the same character portrayed by Kathy Bates in the 1990 film Misery. Nevertheless, it gives a clearer idea of where The Monkey is located in King’s multiverse and how Osgood Perkins’s adaptation sets itself apart from the author’s other stories.