Stephen King’s epic dystopian supernatural novel The Stand is getting adapted into four movies for Warner Bros. by The Fault in Our Stars‘ director Josh Boone, who recently spoke to Kevin Smith about the project, describing it as “the Godfather of post-apocalyptic thrillers.” Warner Bros. is obviously hoping for a big box-office return on what will be a large investment: four big-budget movies, each with heavy marketing. In his interview with Smith, Boone mentions that producers are in talks with several major stars for roles in the project, but does not name any names. And while Matthey McConaughey has been rumored to be considering the role of villain Randall Flagg, there has been no confirmation that he was very interested.
Until now. The Guardian is reporting that the Oscar-winner has been cast in the part. “Conceived as an American version of The Lord of the Rings, King’s 1200-page epic spotlights the battle between good and evil after a deadly virus has wiped out the bulk of the world’s population,” reads the article. “McConaughey looks set to play the story’s chief antagonist, a grinning cowboy with supernatural powers who establishes a power base in the ruins of Las Vegas.” McConaughey’s involvement, and the studio’s decision to make four films, are signs that the adaptation is being taken seriously, and we can only hope that Boone can deliver the goods. While many of Stephen King’s works have been brought to the big screen, the author is generally not served well by cinema: with the exception of his non-horror work, most of the movies based on his books have been decidedly awful. The Stand was adapted into a TV miniseries several years ago which, if memory serves, wasn’t very good. Randall Flagg was played by Jamie Sheridan (Homeland, Arrow).
