Filming is well under way in southwest Alabama on a Stephen King adaptation involving Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill and other stars, and its director says it’s both a fully independent project and a deeply personal one.

Deadline.com reported in May that Hiddleston, perhaps best known as Marvel’s “Loki,” and “Star Wars” mainstay Hamill were to star in an adaptation of King’s story “The Life of Chuck,” with the project to be directed by Mike Flanagan. Since then other names of note have been revealed, including Karen Gillan (Nebula in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films), Matthew Lillard (whose credits include playing Shaggy in the 2002 adaptation of “Scooby-Doo” and Chiwetel Ejiofor (whose past roles include an Oscar-nominated performance as Solomon Northup in “12 Years a Slave.”

Flanagan recently shared some thoughts on the project in a thread on social media site X, formerly Twitter. ” It’s been a long time since I’ve made a completely independent movie.” He praised producer Trevor Macy, who he said “has willed this film into existence.”

He added that the project was in compliance with the ongoing film industry actors’ strike. He described it as a “fully independent film in production under our SAG-AFTRA interim agreement. SAG-AFTRA has called these agreements a vital part of their strike strategy, and we are making this film on their terms as we stand with them.”

Flanagan then spotlighted various members of the cast, including Jacob Tremblay, Taylor Gordon, Mia Sara, Benjamin Pajak, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Q’Orianka Kilcher, Antonio Raul Corbo, Harvey Guillen, David Dastmalchian and more, some of whom are veterans of his past films.

“THE LIFE OF CHUCK is a very personal story for me, and a movie I am so grateful will be in the world,” he concluded. “We’ll keep you posted with more updates as they come.”

“The Life of Chuck” was published in King’s 2020 anthology “If It Bleeds;” the story comprises three episodes that tell the life story of its protagonist in reverse order, from his death to his childhood in a haunted house. In this adaptation, Hiddleston plays the titular role of Charles “Chuck” Krantz.

Flanagan has some history bringing King stories to life, and in doing so in the Mobile Bay area. His previous movies include the King-sourced “Gerald’s Game,” shot mostly in Mobile, and “Doctor Sleep,” based on King’s sequel to “The Shining,” which was shot mostly in Georgia. Other Flanagan projects include “Oculus” and “Before I Wake,” both shot in Fairhope. According to the Deadline report, Flanagan also was writing the script and serving as one of its producers.

Flanagan’s other recent projects have included a Netflix miniseries, “The Fall of the House of Usher.” He created the project and directed four of its eight episodes.

In September, casting company Barefoot Models and Talent posted that it would be booking background extras for the project, which would be shooting in Fairhope and Mobile.

After the Fairhope Health Foods store notified patrons that it would be closed on Oct. 24, the Fairhope Times reported that a film crew for the project had used the store as a location that day.

A representative of the Baldwin County school system confirmed reports that the movie was using the vacant Baldwin County campus of Bay Minette Intermediate school, in what appeared to be an extensive operation.

Tommy Fell, director of the Mobile Film Office, said his office had worked with filmmakers for a couple of months, helping them scout locations. “They are doing some shooting in Mobile next week,” he said, though he could not provide further details.