Stephen King will pen a new ending for the forthcoming CBS All Access adaptation of his beloved epic novel The Stand, according to Deadline.
Julie McNamara, CBS All Access EVP of Original Content, revealed that King will be closely involved with the project at a Television Critics Association panel this week. She says King’s work on the series will include “a new coda that won’t be found in the book.”
McNamara added, “For fans of the book who have wondered what became of the survivors of the stand, this episode will contain a story that takes us beyond the book to answer those questions.” King has said himself that he isn’t completely happy with the original ending and has long toyed with reworking it.
The series will offer a star-studded cast headlined by Westworld star James Marsden and Aquaman actress Amber Heard. Fans of the 1978 apocalyptic fantasy novel eagerly await casting news for villain Randall Flagg, which has yet to be announced.
Josh Boone, whose recent projects include A Fault in Our Stars and The New Mutants, will serve as showrunner and director on the project. Ben Cavell (Justified, Sneaky Pete) will also be a writer on the project. Boone and King are reported to have a strong relationship as the director has been attempting to adapt King’s novel for some time.
This will not be the first TV adaptation of The Stand, which aired as a miniseries on ABC in 1994. That iteration starred Gary Sinese, Molly Ringwald, Ossie Davis, and Miguel Ferrer.
The series is slated for a 10-episode limited run, and CBS All Access promises fidelity to the graphic nature of the book. McNamara says, “In terms of the fact that there’s a lot of carnage and all those things, we will be, I think, accurately depicting how he intended in the book.”
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H/T Deadline