Jack Nicholson Declined Stephen King Adaptation Role.

<img class="gallery-image " src="https://www.slashfilm.com/img/gallery/jack-nicholson-refused-to-return-to-acting-for-a-stephen-king-adaptation/intro-1728606601.jpg" data-slide-url="https://www.slashfilm.com/1685775/jack-nicholson-refused-acting-return-stephen-king-adaptation-doctor-sleep/" data-post-id="1685775" data-slide-num="0" data-slide-title="Jack Nicholson Refused …even stunt cast the Nicholson-esque Christian Slater. Flanagan rightfully understood that doing something like that would only exacerbate King's issues with the character's portrayal, as well as potentially insult Nicholson fans. What's more, doing such a thing would've done the tender scene that "Lloyd" is needed for a disservice. Using this line of thinking, Flanagan realized that it was the character and the scene that he had to serve, not the reference or legacy of "The Shining" per se. Fortunately, Kubrick's choices in "The Shining," particularly regarding the character of Delbert Grady (Philip Stone), who used to be the Overlook's caretaker before being turned into one of its minions, helped provide the answer to this dilemma. As Flanagan explained:

“No one was going to be able to handle someone coming in and doing a Nicholson impression, especially at the full ‘Heeeeere’s Johnny’ level of it. But Jack [Torrance] having been digested by the hotel in the same way Delbert was, and now he just works there, he’s just on the staff. He said, ‘No sir, you’ve mistaken me for someone else.’ I thought that was Kubrick, in his way, pointing to the solution to how to handle Jack.”

Ultimately, while seeing Nicholson come out of retirement to return to the world of “The Shining” could’ve provided a neat little grace note to the film’s legacy and his part in it, Flanagan made the right choice to let “Doctor Sleep” primarily be its own movie. The film isn’t there to make people cheer in recognition or wallow in nostalgia, but rather to confront it head on. Like Nicholson, Flanagan, and Dan Torrence came to realize, sometimes it’s better to let the past go.