Years before Stephen King published his first book, Carrie, in 1974, he had an idea for historical fiction. After calling the project “Split Track” in his head, King began work on it, but realized that preliminary research would require more time and effort than he could devote at the time. I noticed it right away. Although King abandoned that idea in favor of something easier to implement, he eventually returned to this historical premise to tell a time-travel story that goes back to a specific date. This is his 2011 novel “11/22/63,” in which high school English teacher Jake Epping gets the chance to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The aftereffects of tinkering with history are not pretty.
Even a cursory glance at “11/22/63” reveals a period-focused study, as his exploration of late ’50s and early ’60s America is done with as much care as possible. King’s initial misgivings about this are clear. Additionally, the book’s subject matter was a little different from his usual horror-flavored stories, where a mix of historical fact and detective fiction creates a bold and dizzying effect. To no one’s surprise, the novel was made into a Hulu miniseries a few years later, and the show’s title was stylized as “11.22.63.” Here, Jake Amberson (James Franco) travels back in time to 1960 after discovering a magical closet inside a diner. However, this Narnia-esque adventure takes a very dark turn when Jake sets out to change the course of history.
The series is quite popular and succeeds in depicting how the past actively creates obstacles to resist change, and how events turn into something strange or creepy. Every time Jake goes against the flow of time, “11.22.63” comes to life, especially when the fallout from the temporal tampering gets out of hand. But does the miniseries need a sequel?
Stephen King shares his thoughts on the 11.22.63 sequel series
The “11.22.63” miniseries takes some interesting turns, but its limited format (understandably) prevents it from incorporating the nuances of Jake’s quest to change history. you can’t. As mentioned above, King painstakingly fleshes out the historical details of the assassination and all aspects of the original novel, including a lot of information in the part where Jake spies on Lee Harvey Oswald (Daniel Webber). giving. Most of these didn’t make it into the series, but a potential sequel could revisit these important details (if not treat a completely different part of history in a new light). too).
King has the most important opinion here, and the author expressed his thoughts on a possible sequel in a 2016 Facebook Q&A on “11.22.63” (via indie wire). Dr. King said:
“I’d love to see Jake and Sadie again. [a fellow teacher Jake falls for in the past]also revisiting the rabbit hole that throws people into the past, but sometimes it’s better not to go back for a refill. If I were to write a sequel, it would be about Jake trying to stop some unscrupulous people from using the rabbit hole to change the past in horrific ways. ”
Based on King’s answers in the Q&A, the author believes that the heart of the series is Jake and Sadie’s relationship, as it embodies the very definition of “destined by the story” despite Endgame. It is clear that there are. When asked why the diner closet (which is a wormhole in the novel) only leads to November 22, 1963, King explained:
“I thought rabbit holes (or wormholes as we call them) were a cosmic mistake, a fundamental flaw in the universe. All the potential paradoxes make time travel incredibly dangerous. It’s enough to make a nuclear bomb look like a toy compared to Jake and Sadie… Of course I didn’t doubt it.
No sequel to “11.22.63” is currently in production, but an entirely new adaptation could be possible. Until then, we must continue to struggle with the grandfather paradox.
