It was announced last year that CBS All Access would air a 10-episode miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's masterful post-apocalyptic horror novel The Stand, and thanks to Vanity Fair we now have a first look at several of the main characters.
There's no sign of James Marsden (Westworld, Sonic the Hedgehog) as principal protagonist Stu Redman or Amber Heard (Aquaman) as the conflicted Nadine Cross, but the stills do spotlight Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood, Heather Graham as Rita Blakemoor, Owen Teague as Harold Lauder, and Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith.
We also see the story's opposing forces of light and darkness: Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail, and Alexander Skarsgård as the demonic Randall Flagg.
“He’s so charming and he’s so handsome, and so powerful—I mean genuinely powerful, able to perform these sort of miracles where he could levitate himself and he has these actual powers,” said showrunner Taylor Elmore of the show's charismatic villain. “And yet he needs this adulation and this kind of worship from these people whom he’s summoned to him. He needs to have them make a show all the time of how grateful they are to him.”
For those unfamiliar with King's novel, The Stand deals with a global pandemic (yes, it's a scarily prescient tale) known as "Captain Tripps" which wipes out 99% of the world's population. The survivors are immune to the disease, but are ultimately forced to fight each other as some are drawn to a the light (Abagail), and others to darkness (Flagg).
New Mutants director Josh Boone, who was the driving force behind all previous attempts to adapt the book, will direct, write, and produce the upcoming series. Check out the stilsl below and let us know what you think. No premiere date for The Stand has been announced yet.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.