Carrie star Summer H. Howell did not watch the 1976 film before taking the role
Summer H. Howell landed the lead in Prime Video's Carrie without ever having seen the original film.
Howell plays Carrie White in the new series from creator Mike Flanagan. She explained the decision in a Deadline Studio at TIFF interview published 14 September, where she appeared alongside Flanagan as a panelist for the show Deadline.
She had not watched Brian De Palma's 1976 version before she was cast. After landing the role, she asked Flanagan if he wanted her to read the book or do research. His answer was short. No.
Both agreed it was better that way. Howell and Flanagan said holding off let her build her own version of Carrie first, free of an earlier performance.
She has caught up since. Howell said she has now watched the original film with Flanagan. The full cast and crew also screened it together at the Rio theatre in Vancouver when production wrapped, Flanagan said.
Samantha Sloyan co-stars as Margaret, Carrie's mother. Prime Video is the U.S. distributor for the series, which follows misfit high-schooler Carrie White after a life kept largely inside her home with her fiercely protective mother, according to Amazon MGM Studios Amazon MGM Studios.
Flanagan's version moves the story into the modern era. He said he was searching for a new actor who could capture Carrie's vulnerability and isolation, and Howell was first reported to be in talks for the title role in April 2025 TV Insider.
The King novel was first filmed in 1976. That adaptation was directed by De Palma from a screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, with Sissy Spacek as Carrie Deadline.
Prime Video greenlighted its television version based on the novel in April 2025. The project was then announced as a series from Flanagan for the service Deadline.
Prime Video has set 7 October for the limited series, meaning a story told in one closed season. The date was revealed during a Comic-Con panel Deadline. That appearance was Flanagan's first-ever San Diego Comic-Con, made alongside Howell.
The author is already watching. Stephen King called Flanagan's Carrie miniseries "Brilliant". Amazon MGM Studios now lists Carrie among its Featured Original Series, with Season 1 in its upcoming releases.
For fans, this means a familiar name with a deliberate reset. No homework was required of its new lead. The homework came later, together, after the cameras stopped.
