Mike Flanagan adds ‘Midnight Mass’ alums in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ series
Several cast members have been announced for Netflix's upcoming limited horror series, The Fall of the House of Usher.
Midnight Mass creator Mike Flanagan revealed in a series of tweets on Friday that among the principal cast members for his and Trevor Macy's upcoming limited series include Frank Langella, who will play as the towering patriarch of the Usher dynasty, Roderick Usher.
Langella will be joined by Carla Gugino, Mary McDonnell (Madeline Usher), Carl Lumbly (C. Auguste Dupin) and Mark Hamill, who, according to Flanagan, will play a "character surprisingly at home in the shadows."
Additional cast members for Edgar Allan Poe's short Gothic story are Flanagan's frequent collaborators such as Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, T'Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Sauriyan Sapkota, Zach Gilford, Katie Parker, Michael Trucco, Malcolm Goodwin, Crystal Balint, Kyliegh Curran, Paola Nuñez, Aya Furukawa, Matt Biedel, Daniel Jun, Rutt Codd, Robert Longstreet, Annabeth Gish, Igby Rigney, and JayR Tinaco.
"And this isn’t even all of them… there are still a few more parts outstanding. But I cannot properly express how excited I am to be working with such a formidable, electrifying ensemble," Flanagan said.
In October, Netflix announced that the The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor creator's next horror project is an adaptation of the Gothic author's classic supernatural horror story.
"This miniseries is unique for Intrepid, we’ve never done anything quite like this before. I’m so grateful to be working with my long-time collaborator Michael Fimognari, who will be directing four of the eight episodes, and my producing partner and executive producer Trevor Macy," Flanagan said.
First published in 1839, Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher revolves around an unidentified narrator and his friend who claims that their mansion is sentient and is responsible for his deteriorating mental condition.
The short story was later included in Poe's collection of Gothic short stories,Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque.
Other details about the upcoming eight-episode horror series remain under wraps as of this writing. However, Netflix earlier confirmed that the upcoming limited series by Flanagan will be based on "multiple works" by Poe, which means that the project would probably feature other stories by the Gothic author.
"This miniseries is a modern remix of some of the most iconic works of Edgar Allan Poe. To tell this epic tale of greed, horror, and tragedy, we have assembled the largest ensemble cast in the history of Intrepid Pictures," Flanagan said.
"We’ll see you on the other side. In the meantime, dim the lights, light a fire, and just imagine a deep voice in the dark, quietly intoning… 'Once upon a midnight dreary…,'" he added.
The Fall of the House of Usher will be Flanagan's fifth project with Netflix. Aside from adapting Poe's short story, the acclaimed director is also working on a Netflix series adaptation of Christopher Pike's 1994 young adult book The Midnight Club, which tells the story of five terminally ill teenagers at a hospice who meet every night to tell each other scary stories.