Stephen King's plague novel comes to life in first images for The Stand

Stephen King’s plague novel comes to life in first images for The Stand

May 20th 2020, 11:44am

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

It already feels like we're living in a Stephen King novel with the current events of the COVID-19 pandemic but CBS All Access is ready to remind us just how on the nose Stephen King actually is in their new miniseries adaptation of his novel, "The Stand."

The new version of his legendary novel was in production just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and actually had to wrap production four days early. Now that the adaptation feels just as topical as ever, "Vanity Fair" has released first look images at the miniseries to give us a preview at what's to come in this latest take on a King classic.

The miniseries is set to launch later this year although an exact premiere date hasn't been set. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, James Marsden, and many more, The Stand tells the story of a world in ruins due to a man-made plague that results in a battle of Biblical proportions between the remaining survivors.

There were some interesting nuggets of information from the "Vanity Fair" article which revealed that they will shuffle the chronology of King’s book, meaning it won’t play out the same linear way as the earlier miniseries adaptation from 1994 starring Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, & Jamey Sheridan. The first episode is set to be directed by Josh Boone, who may finally get to show us the long-awaited THE NEW MUTANTS on August 28, and when we enter the series, the plague has already struck. When we meet the major characters at the center of the story, we’ll see flashbacks to their old lives at the time the pandemic hit. Heather Graham, Jovan Adepo, Henry Zaga, Amber Heard & Greg Kinnear also star.

Although there is no premiere date as of yet, I'm really looking forward to this new iteration of The Stand. Movies like CONTAGION and OUTBREAK have gained new notoriety in light of our current state of affairs which have made them take on a new meaning so it will be interesting to see if The Stand will gain new prominence when it begins its nine-episode run on CBS All Access.