Summary
The highly anticipated TV show adaptation of Stephen King’s 2019 novelThe Institutewill break a streak for star Ben Barnes. Adaptations of King’s stories are still a hot commodity for the TV and movie industries. As recently as last year, King was the mind behind one of the mostwell-received horror films of 2023 withThe Boogeyman.The Institutefalls into King’s plethora of novels that involve mind powers (The Shining,Carrie, etc.) and follows a child with telekinetic abilities placed in a hidden institute and a small-town cop trying to rescue him.
The Institutewill be an MGM+ original series, have eight episodes, and will start filming in Nova Scotia later this year. It will reunite King and director Jack Bender after they worked together onUnder the Domeand one ofKing’s highest-quality TV series,Mr. Mercedes. Benjamin Cavell will be the series' writer after working on the most recent CBS TV adaptation ofThe Stand. Though not much has been released about the cast in its entirety, it will featureWeeds' Mary-Louise Parker and Ben Barnes in the small-town police officer role of Tim Jamieson. For Barnes, this is an exciting departure.
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Ben Barnes Has Regularly Been Typecast As Villains & Twisted Guys On TV
He Played Villains In Westworld, The Punisher, and Shadow & Bone
So far in Ben Barnes' career, he’s had an affinity and a natural talent for playing the villain. Most of his characters weave a level of charm throughout their devious plans, which are covered up by a handsome face. This not only causes viewers to be more forgiving of his characters' heinous acts but also gives his villainous performances more depth. InWestworld, Barnes plays Logan Delos, an arrogant jerk who introduces William to the park and continuously shows off his darker side by killing and abusing Westworld’s hosts.
In Netflix’sThe Punisher, Barnes plays the good-looking Billy Russo, a friend and Marine who served with Frank Castle in Afghanistan. He then betrays Frank and, after a brutal showdown, becomes the villain known in the Marvel Universe as Jigsaw. In Netflix’sShadow & Bone, Barnes plays General Kirigan (AKA The Darkling,) a manipulative general who believes he’s a savior instead of the morally corrupt military man he is. Even in his one-episode roles inGuillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of CuriositiesandBlack Mirror, Barnes plays dark and twisted characters, though not necessarily villains.
Barnes Will Finally Play A Hero In MGM+’s Adaptation Of Stephen King’s The Institute
Tim Jamieson Is An Everyman Police Officer With A Difficult Past
Barnes will finally get the chance to play a major heroic character on TV with the role of everyman, night-knocking cop, Tim Jamieson. Like most of Stephen King’s protagonists, Jamieson has a past filled with moral dilemmas, but unlike almost all of Barnes' TV roles, Jamieson errs on the side of moral compassion and stands up for the weak and powerless. It will certainly be a chance for Barnes to show off his acting chops in an unfamiliar area, but he isn’t a complete stranger to the hero role.
The Institutehas no in-text connections to other Stephen King books, even though its story has eerily similar themes toDoctor SleepandFirestarter.
One of the biggest roles of Barnes' career is as the dashing Prince Caspian inThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianandThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,a performance he was praised for at just 27 years old. For his role inPrince Caspian, he was awarded with a nomination for Breakthrough Performance Male at both the MTV Movie Awards and Teen Choice Awards. Barnes' casting inThe Institutewill give him the chance to play a hero again but in a vastly different genre.
The Institute
Cast
A kidnapped prodigy with special abilities, Luke, ends up at The Institute, while Tim, a former cop, seeks a new life in a nearby town. Their fates are inevitably linked.
