'Castle Rock' Season 2 preview: A younger Annie Wilkes drives into town to 'settle' in with her daughter while on the run for murder
The second season of 'Castle Rock' is set to premiere on October 23 on Hulu. The series is inspired by the rich universe within the pages of Stephen King's books and the iconic characters he has created over the years within the horror, suspense, and fantasy genres. In Season 2, we get into the backstory of one such character, Annie Wilkes, made famous by Kathy Bates' Oscar-winning performance in the film's adaptation of the book.
Lizzy Caplan will play the younger Annie Wilkes who is stranded in Castle Rock with her daughter "Joy", caught in a feud between families. The series' take on the character introduces several original characters, like Annie's daughter, Joy (Elsie Fisher), Chris Merrill (Matthew Alan), who tries to contain the conflict in town, and the Somali doctor, Nadia Howlwadaag (Yusra Warsama) who is part of a Somalian immigrant family. Star Tim Robbins will also return to his "Shawshank" roots as one of the prominent cast members this season on 'Castle Rock'. He will be playing the role of Reginald 'Pop' Merrill, who was featured in King's short story, 'The Sun Dog'.
While the season will explore Annie Wilkes' character, keeping in mind the legacy of the book and 1990 film, co-creator and executive producer Dustin Thomason also wanted to explore the concept of a "woman without a home".
Indeed the trailer has Caplan's Annie tell her daughter that they are "searchers" and that she is trying to find a place to settle and that will live up to Joy, who she calls "my perfection". The script uses a lot of catchphrases like "cockadoodie" that references Bates' performance. The younger Annie is also suspected of being a murderer, with her daughter asking her if "she has done something".
Matthew Alan also stars in this season as the original character "Chris Merrill", who is part of the Merrill family. Other Merrill characters who have appeared in a number of King’s works have mostly been antagonists. But Chris Merrill plays a more sympathetic role of trying to quell conflict in the town as it unfolds.
One of the "familiar places" that the song for the show's trailer references is the little town of Jerusalem's Lot in Maine featured in King's book 'Salem's Lot' and the evil "Marsten House". The series has introduced a more contemporary spin to the yarn, by introducing a family of Somalian immigrants to speak to the real-world issue of refugees forced to flee their homes.
Castle Rock premieres on Hulu on October 23.