Life of Chuck: Which Stephen King novel is the film based on?

With him, thrills are often required. For many decades now, Stephen King, who unveiled his top 10 best films of all time in September 2025, has been a master in the art of feeding our worst nightmares. As with Miserywhose transposition to the big screen did not convince everyone, or Walk or Diethe author’s very first novel, transposed to the cinema in the summer of 2025. A symbol of the mastery and popularity of our man, many of his works have been adapted for the small or big screen, such as the terrifying Thatboth film(s) and series. But Stephen King is not just about thrills, as numerous and unforgettable as they are. The writer is also at the top in the register of emotion. This is the case in Stand by mewhose transition to cinema was directed by the late Rob Reiner, who died in December 2025 in terrible circumstances. Or The Green Lineplayed by the giant Michael Clark Duncan. Broadcast this Tuesday January 6, 2026 at 9:10 p.m. on Canal+, Life of Chuck is in the same category.

Life of Chucka superb and moving hymn to life and dance, recounts in reverse and in three acts the life of Chuck Krantz, an ordinary man with a journey mysteriously linked to the end of the universe. The film is adapted from Chuck’s Lifeshort story by Stephen King published in the collection If it bleedspublished in 2020 in the United States and February 2021 in France, published by Albin Michel. And it is in the middle of a pandemic that its director Mike Flanagan, specialist in transpositions of the author with Jessie, Doctor Sleep et The Dark Towerdiscovered the news. “For years, I was obsessed with this story and told anyone who would listen that if I could make the film that was in my head, it would be the best of my career.“, says the filmmaker in the press kit of Life of Chuck. “When I contacted Stephen again last year to review The Dark Tower, I asked him again about The Life of Chuck and this time he said, ‘You know what? Let’s do it.‘”

Why the movie Life of Chuck is it divided into three chapters?

Released in cinemas in June 2025, Life of Chuck is played by Tom Hiddleson, the villain of the Thor saga. The film is divided into three distinct parts, which recount the main character’s youth in reverse. “Each of them has a completely different cast, a different aesthetic approach – even the format of the film – a different tone, etc.“, explique Mike Flanagan. “But they must come together to tell the story of Chuck’s life and convey a clear message. When we finished the second act, it felt like we had finished a film. Then we filmed with another cast. It was a unique experience.“