Moonlight’s Andre Holland Joins the World of Stephen King as the Lead in Hulu’s Castle Rock
We all fell in love with Andre Holland as the object of Chiron’s affection in the Academy Award-winning film, Moonlight. Fans of American Horror Story or Cinemax’s The Knick have gotten to know and love him, too. Now, Holland is shifting from supporting actor to lead as the star of the upcoming Stephen King anthology series, Castle Rock.
For those who don’t know, Castle Rock is an anthology series being produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in conjunction with Stephen King and Hulu. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s “an anthology that weaves together characters and themes from King’s novels featuring the mysterious town of Castle Rock. The psychological-horror series combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King’s works, weaving a saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland.”
Holland will be playing Henry, a death row attorney with a complicated history. So, will this first 10-episode installment of Castle Rock have DNA in common with The Shawshank Redemption (which was based on the Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption), or The Green Mile (another prison story written by King) where Henry will be fighting on behalf of someone wrongly (or rightfully) convicted of a crime? Or is the fact that Henry is a death row attorney merely a clever ruse? Is he the one we need to watch out for?
Because come on. This is a Stephen King project we’re talking about here. Nothing is what it seems, and everyone is suspicious.
No other cast has been announced yet, but the show will be written and Executive Produced by Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason (who created the WGN show Manhattan, which is awesome, and also on Hulu if you haven’t seen it yet).
I’m absolutely loving the anthology trend these days, mostly because I’m a huge fan of prose short stories. While, of course, longer-form projects have their place and their advantages, there’s something about an incisive and concentrated short story that packs a powerful punch. Likewise, a tightly-written, contained season of a show. I have high hopes for Castle Rock.
There’s no premiere date set yet, as it’s going into production later this year, but if you want to catch a glimpse of Holland in the meantime, he’s got a role in Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time. Another project we’re way excited about.
Will you be watching Castle Rock when it drops?
(image: Joe Seer/Shutterstock)
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