Mike Flanagan’s new TV show remake of King’s most adapted projects, and the most recent creative mind to take on the seminal story is filmmaker Mike Flanagan. Flanagan is a frequent collaborator with King, having brought to life the stories of Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep. He’s also responsible for the adaptations of The Life of Chuck, which releases in a few days, and The Dark Tower TV show reboot.

He’s a massive fan of the author, according to Carrie TV show is no exception. The casting update for Mike Flanagan’s Carrie remake brings back one actor he’s worked with for 10 years.

Frequent Mike Flanagan Actor Samantha Sloyan Is Playing Margaret White In Carrie

Samantha Sloyan Will Play Margaret Opposite Summer Howell's Carrie

Since the announcement of Mike Flanagan’s Carrie adaptation, fans of the filmmaker have waited to see what Flanagan actors would return for his newest project. Luckily, the casting announcement for Carrie lists all the main cast, including Samantha Sloyan, a name that will be familiar to fans. Sloyan’s first role in a Mike Flanagan project was Sarah in the underrated 2016 movie Hush. Since then, the actor has been a mainstay in the Flananverse.

In the Carrie TV show, Sloyan will play Margaret White, Carrie’s abusive, religious zealot single mother. Every version of the story involves Margaret teaching Carrie to fear her body and sexuality. She also instills in her the belief that menstruation is a curse instilled upon women because Eve corrupted Adam in the Garden of Eden. The fact that her home life is worse than the bullying is one of the biggest revelations from Stephen King’s Carrie book, which could come into play in given the TV show's extra time and Flanagan's ion for accurately depicting King's stories.

Samantha Sloyan Plays Some Of Mike Flanagan's Best Horror TV Characters

Sloyan Has The Background To Play A Horror Villain Well

Sloyan might be best known for playing Bev Keane in the cast of Flanagan’s Midnight Mass, but she’s actually collaborated with him on six projects. She's been fantastic in every one of their horror movie collaborations, frequently playing the villain. She does a great job of creating characters that are worse than they seem at first glance.

A standout example of this is Tamerlane Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher. I will stand by the fact that the Ushers were the villains of that Edgar Allan Poe-inspired TV show, not Verna, and Tamerlane was just as bad as the rest of them, even though she wasn’t as culpable in the family business. Given her ability to play these types of characters, I’m confident that she will be able to handle playing the true villain in Carrie.

What Other Returning Mike Flanagan Actors Are Starring In His Carrie TV Show

Only One Other Mike Flanagan Actor Is Confirmed For The TV Adaptation

Besides Samantha Sloyan as Margaret White, the only other Mike Flanagan actor known to be returning in the TV show is Matthew Lillard. Lillard acts as Gus in the cast of Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck. In the Carrie TV show, he will play Principal Grayle, the principal in charge of Ewen High School. Lillard’s appearance in the show will mark his second time working with Flanagan, as well as his second Stephen King adaptation.

Given Mike Flanagan’s proclivity for working with the same actors across different projects, it seems likely that more familiar names will be announced for the Carrie TV show down the line. However, the number might be limited due to one key difference between this show and his past projects. Most of Flanagan’s previous shows have focused on adults, not high school students. As such, he might not be able to pull quite as many actors into the Carrie TV show, and those who do appear will probably play minor roles, like teachers or parents.