This 5-Year-Old Stephen King Book Has Too Much Untapped Potential To Not Get A Sequel

Stephen King is selective when it comes to writing sequels, only penning them when he feels they’re necessary — but there’s one great book of his that has huge sequel potential and hasn’t gotten one yet. King’s philosophy when it comes to sequels makes sense, as far too many books and movies get continuations for the sake of it. Among the books the author has broken his sequel rule for are The Shining and The Talisman, along with a few novels, like Cujo, that have gotten short story follow-ups. The author has also written series like The Dark Tower.

Needless to say, sequels aren’t totally off the table for the “King of Horror” — but they need to make sense. And his 2019 novel, The Institute, has far too much potential to remain a standalone. The Institute lands among the few King books that really do demand sequels. It’s unclear if one will ever happen, but there are several reasons the five-year-old 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, & Other Institute Tease Set Up Another Book

There are a few 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 at a facility where kids with telekinesis are held against their will and subjected to disturbing experimentation because of their powers. Given that the cast of characters consists of a bunch of kids with mind powers, it goes without saying that they’re an interesting bunch. King could definitely go deeper into each of their backstories and abilities without it feeling repetitive or gimmicky.

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The ending perfectly sets up further exploration of The Institute‘s cast, as it sees the kids escaping from the titular facility but receiving keys to a safe that contains evidence of the Institute’s wrongdoing. Although the kids agree not to reveal the Institute’s secrets using the USB drive, it’s possible they’ll change their minds in the future. It would certainly make an interesting story to see them striking back at the people who tormented them.

Although the children at those Institutes rebel in the same manner as Luke and the others, there’s no reason to think the people behind these institutions won’t track down new kids to study.

And of course, The Institute also reveals that there are identical facilities elsewhere, which opens the door for more storytelling opportunities. Although the children at those Institutes rebel in the same manner as Luke and the others, there’s no reason to think the people behind these institutions won’t track down new kids to study.

How A Second Book Could Deliver On The Potential Of The Institute’s Ending & Characters

There Are Several Ways Stephen King Could Approach A Sequel

With so much untapped potential left to explore after The Institute‘s ending, there are multiple ways that King could go about penning a sequel. To start, he could simply pick up with a new group of kids facing the same circumstances as Luke and his friends. This risks feeling repetitive, but it could go deeper into the people behind the facility and their fates years later. King could also mix a new group of victims with the former story, having The Institute‘s original cast utilize the USB drive to save other telepaths like them.

MGM+ is adapting
The Institute
as a miniseries.

A follow-up to The Institute could also work in connections to King’s other telekinesis stories over the years, like Carrie and Firestarter. Bringing this running theme together would be incredibly satisfying, and this would be a perfect way to do it.