SPOILER ALERT: The following information contains what could be considered SPOILERS for CBS All Access’ miniseries adaptation of The Stand. Proceed with caution!
The Stand remains one of Stephen King’s most beloved books, and while adaptations of his works are often hit-or-miss, the 1994 TV miniseries take on The Stand is actually considered one of the best. Be that as it may, an update will be streaming soon courtesy of CBS All Access and writers/executive producers Josh Boone (New Mutants) and Benjamin Cavell (SEAL Team). And while many King adaptations crash and burn due to the lack of involvement from the author himself, rest assured that the prolific horror penman was very active in the development of this new TV miniseries, going so far as to script an entirely new coda (ending). And fans may want to keep their eyes peeled for a cameo!
One major change from the original novel to the miniseries will be new material penned by King. Based on something that’s been bugging him since the novel was first published back in 1978 and was not even rectified with the publication of the Complete and Uncut Edition in 1990, King has rewritten a new coda for the series. This addition appears to occupy one entire episode of the nine-part series.
At last week’s Television Critics Association virtual panel, Cavell stated:
“He wrote a coda that is our ninth episode. It will be completely new to the entire audience. I can, and will say, the big reason he wanted to do the coda was, he was thinking about for [the last] 30 years that Frannie doesn’t go on ‘the stand’ in the book. She’s seven or eight months pregnant, and can’t walk across the mountains to face the Dark Man. It always ate at him that she was one of the heroes of the book, and she was never given her ‘stand.’ The coda is his planned attempt for the last 30-years to give her her ‘stand.’”
Frannie will be played by Odessa Young in this miniseries.
In addition to Stephen King, the author’s son Owen King was active in the writing process, as part of the writer’s room. It appears he kept his father involved throughout the process.
According to Cavell:
“King read every draft and signed off on every draft. To have him vetting every script by reading it and he had an open line of communication with Owen and me…vetting all the changes we made to characters in real-time.”
Warner Brothers
Like a nightmarish Stan Lee, King has made a habit of popping in in crowd-pleasing cameos in adaptations of his works. Actually, in the original TV miniseries of The Stand, he actually had more than a cameo, as he depicted Teddy Weizak, a character from the book, who is one of Mother Abigail’s followers.
He may not have as large a role in the new version, but eagle-eyed fans may still want to pay close attention. As Cavell said:
“I would say there’s a chance you may see him this time.”
Viewers will also see the massive all-star cast consisting of James Marsden, Amber Heard, Greg Kinnear, Odessa Young, Henry Zaga, Whoopi Goldberg, Jovan Adepo, Owen Teague, Brad William Henke, Daniel Sunjata, Ezra Miller, Alexander Skarsgård, Nat Wolff, Gordon Cormier, Eion Bailey, Katherine McNamara, Hamish Linklater, Heather Graham, Irene Bedard, Natalie Martinez, and Fiona Dourif.
The Stand will be released via CBS All Access beginning on December 17.
