Samantha Sloyan on Margaret White in Flanagan's 'Carrie' — SkimNews
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- Mike Flanagan is developing a 'Carrie' miniseries based on Stephen King's 1974 novel, casting Samantha Sloyan as the religious antagonist Margaret White in a modernized take centered on school bullying.
- Flanagan described his approach as taking King's story 'down to its studs, and then rebuild[ing] the structure,' crafting a Margaret who is 'both a zealot and also... much more human than in the past.'
- Samantha Sloyan has collaborated with Flanagan since the 2016 film 'Hush,' with roles in 'The Haunting of Hill House,' 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' and the lead villain Bev Keane in 'Midnight Mass.'
- Sloyan often hears about projects over dinner with Flanagan and his wife Kate Siegel, her best friend since their twenties.
- Sloyan distinguishes Margaret from Bev Keane — 'Bev's on a path for her own glory... but Margaret is protecting the daughter that she loves,' though she 'always chooses violence.'
- Sloyan centered her performance on the 'threat of removal of the love' — Margaret cutting Carrie off when she doesn't comply, trapping her between school and home.
Why it matters: Flanagan's 'Carrie' miniseries leans into a more humanized Margaret White and school-bullying themes to set itself apart from De Palma's 1976 film. Casting Samantha Sloyan — fresh off her villainous Bev Keane in 'Midnight Mass' — leans into Flanagan's signature character depth, making the adaptation a showcase for his recurring collaborators.
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