It’s been 25 years since Stephen King’s 1978 novel The Stand was adapted into a live-action format. Since then Hollywood has continually been trying to do it again.
Now, it’s finally happening. The CBS All Access streaming service in the U.S (and will most likely be coming to the Ten All Access in Australia as well) has ordered the epic story of good and evil as a 10-episode limited series.
“I’m excited and so very pleased that The Stand is going to have a new life on this exciting new platform,” said King in a statement published by Variety.
“The people involved are men and women who know exactly what they’re doing; the scripts are dynamite. The result bids to be something memorable and thrilling. I believe it will take viewers away to a world they hope will never happen.”
Josh Boone and Ben Cavell will write the series and executive produce, with Boone (The Fault in Our Stars, The New Mutants) directing the episodes. It’s the culmination not just of five years of work trying to bring The Stand to the big screen for Boone (he first signed on to the project in 2014) but really, a lifetime of passion. He first read the book when he was 12, his Baptist parents burned it, he wrote to King about the incident, and King personally sent him more books.
The Stand tells a huge story starting with a disease nicknamed Captain Trips wiping out most of humanity. It then follows the survivors who are forced to band together to fight against (or for) an ancient evil in a battle to save the world.
It’s a story that, obviously, is way too big for one movie, which is why it was first adapted into a six-hour miniseries. At one point Boone envisioned it as four movies, and later, as one movie as a conclusion to a longer television show. It’s unclear if this TV show is the entire story, just part of it, or a set up to a movie. All we know is it’s 10 episodes.
Long-form TV feels like just the right medium for The Stand, though, and Boone seems like the right person for the job. If he does the material even an iota of justice (something the 1994 series struggled to do), it’ll be a special series.
It is unknown as to when the streaming service will be adding the show to the U.S CBS All Access, along with the Australian version Ten All Access. We will update with more information on Ten All Access when we have more information.