Stephen King’s The Stand Movie in Development

Posted by on February 1st, 2011   Filed under: Books/Comics, Horror
Source: Heat Vision

Hot on the heels of the recent reports that Javier Bardem has been offered the lead role in Ron Howard’s adaptation of The Dark Tower, it seems that another epic Stephen King book is inching closer to the big screen. Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming up to adapt King’s massive post-apocalyptic novel The Stand, which surprisingly has never appeared on the big screen, although it did get turned into a TV mini-series starring Gary Sinise in 1994. The book follows four groups of survivors making treks across the U.S. in the wake of a viral outbreak that wipes out 99% of the world’s population. Roy Lee (The Strangers, Quarantine) will produce, although no writer or director has been set thus far.

With its post-apocalyptic setting, it’s possible that The Stand is gaining some momentum thanks to the popularity of AMC’s The Walking Dead TV series, although the book does not feature any actual zombies. George Romero was trying to set up an adaptation back in the ’80s although it eventually fell through. CBS Films later ended up snagging the rights, but since they are known for mainly lower budget undertakings they decided to partner up with a bigger studio. Warner Brothers won a three-way bidding war that also included Sony and Fox.

One thing that is still unclear is whether or not the book will be turned into a single movie or multiple installments. Considering that The Stand is divided into three main sections, it seems ideal for a trilogy… and we all know how much Hollywood loves its trilogies as of late. Are you looking forward seeing The Stand on the big screen? Who would you like to see in the director’s chair?



  • MikeH

    the miniseries for The Stand was garbage so hopefully they could make a better feature out of one of King’s greatest works.

    as for Javier Bardem as Roland, i can see it. i was still hoping that Viggo would do it, but then again it may be too close to LOTR.

    and as for this swapping back and forth from the big screen to the little screen, i dont know if i like this, i think that they should just do the whole thing on HBO or something like that and there you have 7 solid seasons.

  • Mason

    The Stand miniseries was wonderful!! I never read the book, however, but I loved it for what it was. Lots of great character actors were involved. One of the last great TV miniseries. I can’t imagine it being one film, but I’m sure it would make a good theatrical trilogy.

  • I liked the original miniseries so I could go either way. I’m more excited about the Dark Tower series being made.

    I do agree with MikeH that it should get made on a premium movie channel, that would be the best for the show.

  • Matt

    Not sure about who should direct, but as for Good ole R F, I say Johnny depp. And when it comes to TDT, have not heard anything about Eddie or how they plan on trying to deal with not aging Jake over all those years if they do the movie/tv series thing?

  • Meghan McCarthy

    With each week seems to come news of more movie reboots. A remake of King’s The Stand seems like a difficult task to undertake in a single film. The mini series had six hours to adapt King’s novel to the screen.
    The novel is 823 pages of complex characters and rich landscapes, which seems impossible to fit into one film.
    I think in order to make this adaptation effective, it should be broken into a few installments. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was successful with this technique.

  • HerlyGirl

    I think this is an AWESOME idea! I read the series as a teenager and rented the miniseries back when it was on VHS lol. (I always thought it was just a really long movie like Titanic or something) but I thought it held up to the book well then. Then again I wasn’t the most intelligent as a teenager… maybe I should try and get my hands on it again to re-watch…

    I LOVE tThe Stand though, and I cannot believe you didn’t mention anything about The Stand comic series in here?!? Maybe that has helped it gain some momentum?

  • True, I’ve been meaning to check out the comic since I don’t think I’ll get around to reading the book anytime soon…

  • Pete

    the book is a fast read despite it s size .. it would be better suited as a mini series through some venue like HBO or even syfy .. too much info to cover in 6 hours .. thats why the 1994 attempt was ‘shit’ ..

  • CeCe

    I agree with Pete. Fast read and really need to read the book to appreciate the story in it’s entirety. I am excited about but pensive on the presentation. I think a big screen trilogy is an awesome idea to The Stand.

  • Arron

    I have read the complete uncut edition of The Stand a few times and seen the mini series and it does no justice to the book but what movie does. Hope they can do a better job for the big screen. As for a trilogy it’s a good idea but with Book II being so long they might benifit more from a Quadilogy.

  • Sam

    I really hope the guys that directed and wrote Lost get on this.. Lost and The Stand have many similarities with the storyline and character development. I can’t wait for this, I just hope they don’t turn one of the best stories ever into a piece of garbage.