It’s going to be even longer than the original miniseries
Much like the work of any famous author, adaptations of beloved books can be a tricky thing to nail. This becomes even harder when you’re talking about the work of Stephen King because it’s arguable that no other author has been as prolific or cinematic as he has.
Over the last 18 months, we’ve been treated to countless King features and the standard has varied. This being said, some of King’s work really is best suited for TV – the first season of Mr Mercedes was excellent and we really hope that Amazon can nail The Dark Tower – but The Stand is ripe for TV.
In case you’re not familiar with King’s opus- it’s his longest book to date – the post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy is absolutely epic. Essentially, it details the total breakdown of society after the accidental release of a strain of influenza that had been modified for biological warfare. Ultimately, this virus causes an apocalyptic pandemic that kills off the majority of the world’s population. The remaining survivors are split into two groups – one led by a benevolent elder and the other by a maleficent being – to face each other in a final battle between good and evil.
You may know that The Stand was already turned into a television mini-series in 1994 but a new version is in development.
In an interview with Tracking Board, Josh Boone (The New Mutants) said that he has been working on an adaptation of the novel for a few years and that his version of The Stand was originally going to be a four-part film franchise.
Those plans have changed though because the new version looks set to be a ten-hour TV series.
“Boone has a full plate once he wraps New Mutants. He’s still attached to direct an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, which we hear is coming together as a ten-hour limited series at CBS All Access,” they report.
To put things into perspective, the original miniseries was only six hours long. Even more Stephen King? That’s not exactly a bad thing.
If you’re looking for a more immediate fix of King, Castle Rock is set to be released this year and it looks like an absolute doozy.
