Stephen King is known for creating extremely complex characters and a spider web of interconnecting between them. He has had many of his stories transformed into works of art for both the big screen and the little screen over the past few decades like IT, The Shining, and Misery. IT was one of the first of his movies to be remade from the original 1990 Tim Curry 2-part miniseries in 2017, closely followed by a remake of Pet Sematary in 2019.

Firestarter was first made into a movie in 1984, directed by Mark L. Lester and starring Drew Barrymore as the main character, Charlie. While the special effects were cutting-edge at the time, Blumhouse Productions and Universal Studios decided it was time to revamp this supernatural thriller.

The premise of the 2022 movie is once again about Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), a young girl who develops pyrokinesis, or the ability to create and manipulate fire. After an incident at school, her existence draws the attention of a secret government agency known as “The Shop.” Her parents, who have had previous experiences with the agency, must now fight and run for their lives in order to protect Charlie from falling into The Shop’s clutches.

Some people may complain that “the studios” are only doing remakes of existing films and aren’t showing any originality, but others would argue that these remakes bring a whole new generation into the fold of these iconic movies. Everybody is allowed to have their opinion on which version was better, but we can all agree that inviting younger generations to enjoy is a good thing.

Coming to theaters and Peacock on Friday, May 13, is the new and explosive Firestarter. Until the release, you can watch the trailer here:

The article below will catch you up on who’s who and why they’re important to the plot of the new film.

Related:'Firestarter' Trailer Reveals a Fiery New Stephen King Adaptation Starring Zac Efron

Charlene “Charlie” McGee (Ryan Kiera Armstrong)

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Image via Universal Pictures

Charlie is a young girl who struggles to control her powers, which are tied to her emotions. Her parents have been trying to teach her ways to calm herself down if she feels like she is losing control, but she hasn’t been able to master that. Unfortunately, as she gets older, her emotions (and abilities) get stronger and harder to control, which scares her.

This worries her parents as well, and the fear that Charlie can see in their eyes sometimes does nothing to make her feel better. It’s one thing to have a child grow towards adolescence and rebellion, but when that child can also shoot fire across the room it changes the household power dynamic drastically. Feeling isolated and confused about her abilities, Charlie is naturally withdrawn, which makes her a target for school bullying.

After losing control at school, she and her parents must go on the run to avoid her capture from The Shop. Her parents have abilities of their own, but they are much weaker than Charlie’s so when push comes to shove, it’s up to Charlie to try to save her parents.

Andrew “Andy” McGee (Zac Efron)

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Image via Universal Pictures

Charlie’s father, Andy, is played by Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman). He has a weak form of telepathy that he refers to as his “push” and it allows him to persuade people to do things. It’s similar to the Jedi mind trick (“these are not the droids you’re looking for,”) but again, it’s not very strong, and it physically drains him to use this power. In extreme situations, he can manifest this “push” via his telekinesis and actually shove someone with it. Using his power in this way results in a killer migraine and a bloody nose, so he can’t do it often.

He acquired these powers after undergoing a government-funded experiment when he was a few years younger. It was at this study, that he met his future wife, Vicky. The two of them volunteered to be injected with a compound known as “Lot 6,” which was meant to give the subjects psychic abilities.

Victoria “Vicky” McGee (Sydney Lemmon)

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Image via Universal

Sydney Lemmon (Helstrom) is playing Vicky, Charlie’s mother and Andy's wife. She met him when she was in college, after the two of them woke up in a recovery room after being injected with Lot 6. She also gained powers from the injection, in the form of telekinesis. Like Andy, her abilities are weak, and they take a toll on her. She is able to move small objects with her mind, but if she uses it too often or tries to move something very large or heavy, it makes her ill.

Vicky and Andy also share a telepathic link that allows them to communicate back and forth with each other using only their minds. We don’t see much of Vicky in the trailer, so it’s hard to say how similar her character will be to the original film, or the book. She might also have the ability to read minds in a one-way form of telepathy. She may also suffer injuries at one point from Charlie’s powers at some point, but we won’t know for sure what will happen to her until the movie arrives.

Dr. Joseph Wanless (Kurtwood Smith)

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Image via Universal

Played by Kurtwood Smith (That 70s Show), Dr. Joseph Wanless is the lead Doctor of Psychology for the government agency known as The Shop. He is the one who explains the compound Lot 6 to the volunteers and what risks may be included. In the novel he is referred to as a “Mad Scientist” with rat-like behavior. He also has a proclivity for compulsively shredding cigarettes at his desk, a tic that we might be able to see in the new movie.

Going off of the novel once more, Dr. Wanless suffers a stroke and becomes obsessed with the surviving test subjects of Lot 6. When he learns about Charlie, he wants her and her parents killed, as he sees them as a threat to the planet.

Captain Hollister (Gloria Reuben)

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Image via Universal

Gloria Reuben (Mr. Robot) brings the character of Captain Hollister back from the original 1984 movie, with a slight gender-bending twist. The original Captain Hollister was portrayed by Martin Sheen (The Departed). Despite slight changes to the character, the role Reuben plays in the movie remains the same. Captain Hollister is the head of The Shop, and the one making all the calls regarding sending agents out to capture Charlie and her parents.

Ruthless and cold-blooded, Captain Hollister sends an assassin to collect Charlie after a failed attempt by the agents. She considers the successful subjects of the Lot 6 experiments to be tools that can be turned into living weapons, and she wants all the weapons accounted for, no matter the cost or collateral damage.

Related:‘Firestarter’: Stephen King Adaptation Gets Day-and-Date Premiere on Peacock, in Theaters

John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes)

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Image via Universal

John Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes) is the assassin that Captain Hollister sends out to capture Charlie and Andy. He works below the radar and answers only to Hollister. We don’t get to see too much of this character in the trailer, but he is possibly the greatest physical threat to Charlie and her father.

In the original movie, his character was menacing and resourceful. After Charlie and her father are taken into custody and separated, he manipulates Charlie into thinking that he is a friend of hers and that he will help reunite her with her father. While Hollister and Dr. Wanless still pose an overall threat to Charlie, nothing compares to direct physical altercations with this man. He might be skilled with firearms and hand-to-hand combat, but he gets in way over his head when he gets on Charlie’s bad side.

Irv Manders (John Beasley)

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Image via Universal

While Charlie and Andy are on the run, they are taken in by kindly farmer Irv Manders (John Beasley) and his wife Norma. They aren’t sure what the father and daughter are fleeing from, but welcome them into their home regardless, offering them beds and hot meals; much needed resources for Charlie and Andy. When Andy tells Irv what’s going on, Irv agrees to stand with them when the time comes.

Similar to the horse farmers that assist Wolverine, Charles Xavier, and X-23 in the 2017 movie Logan, it does not turn out well for the compassionate elderly couple. When The Shop agents show up to collect Charlie, Irv takes a stand alongside them, doing what he feels is right. Even though he doesn’t have a large role in the overall story, he has a huge impact on Charlie’s development as she learns about both the good and evil that is prevalent in humanity.

Firestarter's release date is looming closer and closer and as horror aficionados will note, it comes out on Friday the 13th of May 2022. If you want to brush up on the general story, or if you’ve never watched/read Firestarter before, you can watch the 1984 original on a multitude of streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Youtube, and Vudu for about $4.00. May 13th can’t come soon enough!