The Shining already got a sequel in book and movie form. But what about that other haunted hotel tale from the mind of Stephen King? It’s time to check back into the Dolphin, specifically you-know-which cursed room, because 1408 is getting a sequel.
The 2007 original film, based on King’s short story, starred John Cusack as a writer who specializes in haunted places and has convinced himself there’s nothing to fear from a hotel room in New York City that has a verifiable body count. Samuel L. Jackson plays the hotel manager who tries to dissuade him.
And, indeed, the room proves to be a genuine nightmare factory, capable of shape-shifting to embody completely separate locations and infiltrating the writer’s mind to prey on his worst fears and darkest memories.
1408 had multiple endings across its theatrical, home, and streaming releases, featuring different fates for Cusack’s character. Maybe the most troubling outcome of all: he survives his ordeal but realizes he has no way to prove any of it actually happened.
According to Variety, the 1408 sequel will see the return of director Mikael Håfström, who also co-wrote the script with Mark Verheiden. There will be fresh blood in the form of Elijah Wood and Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things), with Cusack and Jackson “currently negotiating the terms of their return.”
While there are no story details yet, the trade writes, “While Jackson and Cusack will reprise their original roles, they will be secondary characters in the sequel, according to a source familiar with the project. Dyer will star in the film, and Wood will play a supporting role.”
Variety also points to a Cusack interview in 2025 where he said the only sequel to one of his films he’d be interested in doing is a continuation of 1408, so perhaps the seed was already being planted back then.
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