Stephen King is selective when it comes to writing sequels, only writing them when he feels they’re necessary – but there’s a big book of his that has huge sequel potential and he hasn’t gotten one yet. King’s philosophy when it comes to sequels makes sense, as many books and films get sequels just for the sake of it. Among the books for which the author broke the sequence rule are The Shining and The Talismanalong with some novels, such as Whosewhich obtained short story accompaniments. The author also wrote series such as The Dark Tower.
Needless to say, sequels aren’t entirely out of the question for the “King of Terror“- but they need to make sense. And her 2019 novel, The Institutehas a lot of potential to remain independent. The Institute is among the few King books that actually demand sequels. It’s unclear whether that will happen, but there are several reasons why the five-year story is a great candidate to become a series.
The Institute is one of Stephen King’s best candidates for a sequel
Its characters, ending and other provocations from the institute form another book
There are some reasons The Institute is ripe for a sequel, and King’s fascinating characters and the book’s ending are chief among them. The Institute is set in a facility where children with telekinesis are held against their will and subjected to disturbing experiments because of their powers. Given that the cast of characters consists of a group of children with mental powers, it goes without saying that they are an interesting bunch. King could definitely delve into each of his stories and abilities without it feeling repetitive or gimmicky.
The ending perfectly sets up a greater exploration of The Institutethe castupon seeing the children fleeing the titular facility, but receiving the keys to a safe that contains evidence of the Institute’s wrongdoing. Although the children agree not to reveal the Institute’s secrets using the USB drive, it is possible that they will change their minds in the future. It would certainly be an interesting story to see them fight back against the people who tormented them.
Although the children at these Institutes rebel in the same way as Luke and the others, there is no reason to think that the people behind these institutions won’t find new children to study.
It is clear, The Institute also reveals that identical facilities exist elsewherewhich opens the door to more storytelling opportunities. Although the children at these Institutes rebel in the same way as Luke and the others, there is no reason to think that the people behind these institutions won’t find new children to study.
How a second book could realize the potential of the Institute’s ending and characters
There are several ways Stephen King could approach a sequel
With so much untapped potential to explore later The Instituteis ending, there are several ways King could write a sequel. For starters, he could simply meet a new group of kids who faced the same circumstances as Luke and his friends. This runs the risk of feeling repetitive, but it can delve deeper into the people behind the installation and their fates years later. King could also mix a new group of victims into the previous story, having The InstituteThe original cast uses the USB drive to save other telepaths like them.
A follow-up to The Institute could also work in connection with King’s other telekinesis stories over the years, such as Carrie and Firestarter. Bringing this running theme together would be incredibly satisfying and would be a perfect way to do it.