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Just when it seemed like studios like Warner Bros had surrendered themselves to superheroes and low-risk sequels, The Fault In Our Stars director Josh Boone says that the studio plans to allow him to turn Stephen King’s epic novel The Stand into a four-part franchise. The studio has been trying to figure out what I would say is King’s finest novel, in which the civilized world ends due to a viral genocide and the remaining population comes together in a battle between good and evil.

Helmers like Ben Affleck wrestled with the daunting task of turning King’s original 1168 page blockbuster into a single film. It is virtually impossible, which is why the sole transfer was a pretty fine miniseries in 1994. Boone told Kevin Smith in his Babble-On podcast (I heard it on Aint It Cool News) that after he boiled down the tale to a single script for a three-hour movie, Warner Bros actually suggested to him a more ambitious plan for what he calls “The Godfather of post-apocalyptic thrillers.” Said Boone: “They asked, would you do this as multiple films. I said f*ck yes. I think we’re going to do four movies. Do The Stand at the highest level you can do it at, with a cast that’s going to blow peoples’ minds. Production in the spring.” Boone said he’s writing that first installment, based on the script he has happily scrapped.

Steve king I was excited when Warner Bros was going to do an equally ambitious treament of King’s supernatural Western The Dark Tower, with Ron Howard directing and Akiva Goldman writing and producing with Brian Grazer and King an adaptation that was to span a trilogy of films, and a limited run TV series in between them. Warner Bros bailed on that and MRC is still working on it. Let’s hope Warner Bros makes a stand here for the kind of creative ambition that exists on pay and basic cable but is sorely missing from feature studios that don’t make enough bets on originality.

I want to see the Dark Tower series done right too. Never happen.

Not a lot happens in Black Company either.

You have the strangest perceptions of almost everything. I love Black Company but it has long stretches of relative plot stasis.

Four movies is the only way to do The Stand any justice.

This. Though my wife and I are debating where the break points are.

Ack, the whole point of Black Company is that it's what it feels like to be the henchmen of a Dark Lord, basically. It's ALL flavor and feeling, no plot. Any decent adaptation of it would have to be about capturing that sense. A BC adaptation that was all about "LOOK LOOK PLOT HAPPENED BOOM" would miss the whole point.  It's six books in before shit actually happens, really.

Ehhhh, King novels in general have pretty fluid breakpoints since a lot of his stories can be fucked with chronologically speaking and not really be ruined.

Edit: For example, I would love IT in 3 parts: The History of Derry (shot as a documentary like The Falls by Peter Greenaway), As a Child, and Now (yes, I'm seriously hoping they do the final portion in modern day Derry, even in the 2-parter).

I was pretty sure I remembered The Stand also being does as a miniseries, and it was. In 1994: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108941/ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108941/)
I faintly remember thinking it was good, but that was 20 years ago, so it may have just been my infatuation with Laura San Giancomo back in my twenties.

Am I the only one here that though Robert R. McCammon's Swan Song was the better post apocalypse book? (despite it coming out 3 years after The Stand and being a pretty blatant rip-off)

Agreed...love TBC, but it certainly meanders.

As for The Stand- really looking forward to this. I thought they did a decent job with the miniseries, but stretching it to 4 films (with associated budget) sounds fantastic. Shall we have a fantasy casting session?

I faintly remember thinking it was good, but that was 20 years ago, so it may have just been my infatuation with Laura San Giancomo back in my twenties.

Matthew McConaughey is reportedly up for a major role in The Stand adaptation, which director Josh Boone just confirmed as a four-film series. As The Guardian notes, the Interstellar actor would play villain Randall Flagg, the story’s antagonistic cowboy with mystical powers and a massive power base in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas.

"The Stand" is one of Stephen King’s more popular series, spawning a television adaptation in the nineties and a comic book adaptation published by Marvel Comics. The series tells a post-apocalyptic tale where modern civilization collapses under a deadly virus that claims 99.4% of the Earth’s population. Those who survive the plague must fight to avoid extinction at the hands of people like Randall Flagg. Though Flagg made his debut as "The Stand’s" primary villain, he eventually grew to be one of Stephen King’s top recurring characters, appearing in almost nine novels. So while it’s a given that McConaughey would sign up for four turns in The Stand series, the role could potentially give him several other franchises to play in.

And most of the shit is about how the entire mission of the BC, and everything they've done to keep their traditions alive, is not just bullshit but completely pointless bullshit. If you hadn't slogged through 6 books to get there, you wouldn't appreciate it. "Meandering pointlessly" with no definable plot is actually a critical device for it.

--Dave

The IT miniseries with John Ritter was ok. The history parts were very well done - the modern day parts, not so much. Of course, that's pretty much the book's problem as well. Plus, the giant spider was much less threatening than Tim Curry as Pennywise - also a problem the book had.

I think he was quoting McConaughey.

If McConaughey wants to play against type he should be Trashcan Man. Imbecile should be right in his wheelhouse.