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Stephen King's never-made Castle Rock season 3 would have focused on the niece of The Shining's Jack Torrance, reveals star Jane Levy

Had Hulu not canceled the series set in a Stephen King-inspired universe, Castle Rock would have had its own take on The Shining, with the star of 2013's Evil Dead remake as its star

Jane Levy is probably best known in the horror world as Mia from the 2013, Fede Álvarez-directed reboot-quel of the Evil Dead. However, had another horror project Levy worked on not been axed before its time, she might have been known better as Jackie Torrance. That's because Hulu's Castle Rock, which featured Levy as Jackie in very small roles in both its first and second season, was planning to make the show's third season to be all about the niece of infamous Stephen King villain Jack Torrance before the show's cancellation. And now, Levy's letting the world know it.

The reveal came out of the Dead by Dawn panel at Emerald City Comic Con 2025, where Levy reunited with the other face of the Evil Dead franchise, Bruce Campbell. During the panel Levy was asked whether or not she was a Stephen King fan before landing a role in Castle Rock, which was based on King's shared universe setting for a number of his novels. She was, confirmed the actress, saying that The Shining was in her "top three" favorite films. Then, since she was on the subject of the Torrance family, Levy dropped her bombshell. 

"I don't know if I'm allowed to share this," began the actor (thankfully she did anyway), "But supposedly, season 3 of Castle Rock was supposed to be about Jackie, and then it got canceled. So I knew [the season 3 plans] signing up for season 1."

Let's back up a bit. Castle Rock, which ran for two seasons from 2018 through 2019 on Hulu, was a show that intentionally had a number of ties with Stephen King's stories: one of the characters had previously been an inmate at Shawshank State Penitentiary, for example, while another worked at the hospital in Jerusalem's Lot (setting of 'Salem's Lot, in case the name didn't give it away). Lizzy Caplan even played a version of Misery's Annie Wilkes in the second season. Levy played Jackie Torrance, a character who was a blood relative of The Shining's Jack Torrance... and someone, the show hinted during its brief run, who had a particular connection with him. (Her birth name was Diane; she took the name Jackie specifically to name herself after Jack, it was revealed.)

Apparently, though, it wasn't only Levy that hoped for further insight into the character's future. Since the cancellation, folks have approached her about Jackie's strange absence from much of the show, especially considering her blood ties to one of the most revered Stephen King villains ever created.

"People were like," said Levy, "'Why did that character not get fleshed out so much?' [Hulu] was planning on season 3 being about her, but it never happened."

The mind boggles about what we could have learned about the Torrance family in the never-made third season - and at the idea that it would have made the show into a stealth sequel to The Shining to accompany King's own Doctor Sleep, which was itself made into a movie by Popverse favorite Mike Flanagan.

Just saying, Hulu, now would be a good time to bring the series back, especially with the mild Stephen King boom we're seeing in movie theaters and TV screens. And if you're really not set on it, well, Netflix has a thing about rescuing cancelled series, right? Gotta go somewhere after Stranger Things, after all.

Castle Rock is streaming (for now!) on Hulu.


In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

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Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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