Doug Liman to direct adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’
Doug Liman is set to direct the best-selling Stephen King novel, The Stand, for Paramount.
Liman, who previously directed the likes of Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Bourne Identity, is newly attached to the project. Cross Creek Pictures’ Tyler Thompson is also set to produce. The film will be based on King’s 1978 post-apocalyptic novel The Stand.
In the novel, a deadly weaponised superflu called Captain Trips wipes out the majority of the world’s population. Those who survive become immune to the flu. Subsequently, they are drawn to a character called Randall Flagg in Las Vegas, a true symbol of corruption and evil, or Mother Abagail in Boulder, a wise woman representing good. The eternal battle of good and evil is a cataclysmic climax in the novel.
The book, which reached 1,153 pages in the 1990 unabridged version, was previously adapted as a television miniseries in 1994. The ABC series starred Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, Ruby Dee and Laura San Giacomo.
The story was picked up again in 2020, this time by Paramount. The star-studded cast included James Marsden, Odessa Young, Alexander Skarsgard, Whoopi Goldberg and Amber Heard. The depth and length of the story have therefore never lent themselves to the film format.
Ben Affleck, Scott Cooper, David Yates and Josh Boone are among filmmakers who have previously been attached to the film. Nothing ever came to fruition. Currently, Liman’s version of the story does not have a script.
Previously, King talked about his relationship with the epic novel: “If I had to pick which of my books people will pick up 100 years from now, if they pick up any, I’d begin with The Stand and The Shining.” He has also received love from far and wide for the novel, including from actor Tom Hanks, who used The Stand as a door which opened onto the rest of King’s work.
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