Mike Flanagan Proposes Horror-Focused Revivals for Jaws and Jurassic Park

Director Mike Flanagan, currently seeing high audience engagement with his latest television project, has identified two Steven Spielberg franchises he hopes to revitalize: Jaws and Jurassic Park. During a Reddit AMA on October 10, 2026, Flanagan detailed a creative vision that would lean away from the action-adventure tone of recent sequels in favor of “true horror.”

The filmmaker’s comments follow the October 7, 2026, premiere of his eight-episode Carrie series on Amazon Prime Video. The adaptation has already set a franchise record on Rotten Tomatoes with an 84% audience score and maintains a 7.9 rating on IMDb. This success has solidified Flanagan’s position as a primary steward of classic genre intellectual property, a role he appears eager to expand.

Flanagan's success with the '' series has reinforced his role as a steward of legacy genre properties.

A Shift Toward “True Dinosaur Horror”

For the Jurassic Park franchise, Flanagan specifically pitched a return to the terrifying roots of Michael Crichton’s original novels. He stated that his approach would prioritize making a “really scary” film, characterizing it as a “true dinosaur horror” project.

This pitch arrives as the franchise navigates a period of commercial strength but mixed critical reception. The 2025 film Jurassic World: Rebirth grossed $872.4 million at the global box office, yet audiences and critics have frequently debated the series’ move toward global action-adventure. Flanagan’s vision suggests a more claustrophobic, high-stakes horror experience reminiscent of his previous work on titles like Hush and Midnight Mass.

Regarding Jaws, Flanagan clarified that he considers Steven Spielberg’s 1975 original “untouchable.” However, he noted that the franchise’s various sequels leave “a ton of room for improvement.” Rather than rebooting the foundational blockbuster, Flanagan expressed interest in a project that could live within that world while correcting the perceived decline in quality found in the later entries.

Flanagan noted that while the original is untouchable, the sequels offer room for improvement.

Flanagan’s Growing Portfolio of Icons

Flanagan’s interest in Spielberg’s catalog marks a continued shift in his career philosophy. While known for original horror, he recently acknowledged that while he once avoided sequels, he now finds value in putting his own perspective on established worlds he respects. This “horror-first” blueprint is currently being applied to another major franchise with The Exorcist: Martyrs.

The Exorcist: Martyrs is scheduled to premiere in theaters on March 12, 2027. As he balances the ongoing success of Carrie and his upcoming theatrical releases, Flanagan appears to be positioning himself as the go-to director for studios looking to inject genuine tension back into legacy brands.

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