Alongside the moon landing and invention of the Internet, Stephen King's The Stand is the best thing to happen in the 20th century. The book has its flaws (length, uncomfortable racial and gender tropes, some heavy-handed religious themes) but it's a behemoth of post-apocalyptic horror. King has said he was attempting to create an American Lord of the Rings and he definitely achieved that. This book is a national treasure.
Despite the horror genre always being popular and studios clamoring to turn any major novel into a multi-film series, The Stand still hasn't made the leap to the big screen. Yes, it was turned into a lukewarm ABC mini-series back in the 90s and, yes, the length and depth of the book create a few obstacles but why hasn't this thing happened yet? It's not that people haven't tried, everyone from David Yates to Ben Affleck have been attached to adapting the book but nothing has happened.
The last person to take a crack at King's apocalyptic vision was Josh Boone, director of teen weeper The Fault in Our Stars and the upcoming comic book movie New Mutants. A few years ago, Boone planned to turn King's novel into multiple R-rated films, which sounds like music to the ears of King diehards. But Boone's take on The Stand was pushed back a few years when New Mutants came along. In fact, most people assumed it was deader than a Captain Trips victim.
Well, apparently Boone's adaptation is still alive. Buried deep in a Tracking-Board piece about the trouble surrounding New Mutants (long story short: after IT, Fox wants more horror in the film and reshoots might actually allow Boone to make the movie he wanted to all along) is the scoop that Boone is attached to turn The Stand into a ten-hour TV series for CBS All-Access. For those who don't know, All-Access is the CBS streaming service, currently home of Star Trek Discovery and The Good Fight and...well, not much else. It's in its early stages. Bottom line: it seems The Stand is still happening, though on the small screen instead of the big.
This is good news all around but here's the best news: Boone is still attached. The man is a perfect fit to direct this project. While his track record might not suggest it, Boone is practically made for The Stand. He's a major, major King fan and holds The Stand in the highest regard. The things he has said about adapting the book have been pitch-perfect. I firmly believe he is the man for the job so to see he is still working on it makes me very excited. Let's just hope he doesn't get too burned out by the problems he's experiencing with New Mutants.
As for it being on All-Access, that's not my ideal home for The Stand but at this point I'll take it airing on the damn Weather Channel as long as it gets made. But honestly, All-Access might be the perfect place. It's a fledgling streaming service trying to make a big splash against monster competitors like Netflix and Amazon. Landing a long-anticipated adaptation might bring it the prestige it needs. Plus CBS has plenty of money to spend on a big-budget series, they proved that with Star Trek Discovery. They might be giving Boone the money and freedom he wants. If that's the case then we might be getting the version of The Stand we have always wanted. And, dammit, it's about freaking time.
Until we get more news about The Stand, take a walk down memory lane and behold all the glory of mid-90s network TV: