Did you know Warner Bros. is planning to remake Stephen King’s The Stand? I sure didn’t, but even if you did you might be surprised to know that first we’ll see the adaptation return in an eight-episode miniseries on Showtime. Yep, you read that correctly.
Instead of adapting Stephen King’s The Stand into a single three-hour movie, Josh Boone — writer and director of the upcoming projects — will first deliver the series beforehand. Supposedly, it’s going to be a multi-platform presentation with the characters and story carrying over to the movie.
The Wrap is reporting that Warner Bros. and CBS Films are “in talks” with Showtime to get the miniseries on the air.
Sounds Good, but What’s It About?
Stephen King’s The Stand — published in 1978 — was adapted into a TV miniseries back in 1994. The show included a bevy of well-known actors including Gary Sinise, Rob Lowe, and Molly Ringwald.
The Stand takes place in a post-apocalyptic America, long after a majority of the population has been killed by a weaponized strain of influenza. A spiritual leader named Mother Abigail leads several survivors to her through dreams, forming a society called the Free Zone. A different band of survivors is drawn to Las Vegas by an evil, supernatural being who’s taken shape as a man named Randall Flagg. The Free Zone must make a stand and fight against the Antichrist Flagg and his followers. It’s the ultimate tale of good versus evil.
The original miniseries is decent, but it’s definitely showing its age now. It will be good to see a modern adaptation of the book, especially one that’s much more thorough. When you’re creating something that’s based on a book with more than 1,000 pages you want as much time as possible to flesh out the story and characters. By all rights, Boone should be able to deliver something more comprehensive considering he has eight episodes and one three-hour movie to do so.
Stephen King will be involved with both projects, and Roy Lee (The Lego Movie, Run All Night) and Jimmy Miller (Get Smart, The Other Guys) will serve as producers.
I’m pretty damn excited for this one, what about you? If the multi-platform presentation works out, let’s hope it paves the way for a Dark Tower series or movie.
