The Life of Chuck
Movie, 2025, The 2020s, Set in A life told backwards
The Life of Chuck is #37 of 42 in release order and #21 of 42 in chronological order in the Stephen King Universe.
The story
In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.
The Life of Chuck recap
The Life of Chuck (2025) tells the life of an ordinary accountant, Charles "Chuck" Krantz, backwards in three acts, starting with the end of the world. Mike Flanagan writes and directs Tom Hiddleston as Chuck, with Nick Offerman narrating. In the last act, schoolteacher Marty Anderson (Chiwetel Ejiofor) watches disasters spread, the internet fail and billboards appear thanking Chuck for 39 great years; he reconnects with his ex-wife Felicia (Karen Gillan) as the stars go out, while Chuck, 39, dies of a brain tumour in hospital. The middle act shows Chuck nine months earlier, stopping on a city street to dance to the drumming of busker Taylor Franck, joined by Janice Halliday (Annalise Basso), a stranger who has just been dumped. The first act shows Chuck as a boy orphaned in a car crash and raised by his grandparents: Sarah (Mia Sara), who teaches him to dance, and Albie (Mark Hamill), a grieving drinker who forbids him to enter the cupola at the top of their house.
The Life of Chuck ending explained
The Life of Chuck ends where Chuck's life began, with the boy choosing to live fully. Albie, who once saw a vision in the cupola of someone about to die, steers Chuck towards accounting. After Albie's death, the teenage Chuck finally climbs into the cupola and sees a vision of his dying adult self. He dismisses it, resolves to make the most of his time and repeats the Walt Whitman line his teacher explained to him: he contains multitudes.
Where to watch The Life of Chuck
The Life of Chuck is streaming on Hulu and Kanopy in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 80%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Monkey, before The Institute.
- Chronological order: after The Monkey, before The Institute.
What to watch before The Life of Chuck
In release order, 20 Stephen King Universe essentials come before The Life of Chuck (2025), from Carrie (1976) to The Monkey (2025).
Cast
- Tom Hiddleston as Charles 'Chuck' Krantz
- Benjamin Pajak as Charles 'Chuck' Krantz
- Nick Offerman as Narrator (voice)
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Marty Anderson
- Karen Gillan as Felicia Gordon
- Mia Sara as Sarah Krantz
- Mark Hamill as Albie Krantz
- Annalise Basso as Janice Halliday
- Jacob Tremblay as Charles 'Chuck' Krantz
- Cody Flanagan as Charles 'Chuck' Krantz
- Samantha Sloyan as Miss Rohrbacher
- Trinity Jo-Li Bliss as Cat McCoy
Directed by Mike Flanagan.