Jovan Adepo and Heather Graham are among the survivors in “The Stand” reboot.
James Marsden, (“Westworld”, “Dead to Me”), admitted it was a little eerie shooting the upcoming miniseries the Stand. In speaking with Variety and iHeart’s weekly podcast, he said “There are scenes in the beginning of The Stand where as soon as you see someone who looks normal sneeze or cough into their arm, everyone’s eyes in the room darts towards them.” Filming of the apocalyptic horror story began last Fall and was finishing up right as COVID-19 numbers were spiking and quarantines were being ordered. Based on the 1978 novel by Stephen King, The Stand was made into a miniseries in 1994. The series opens to an empty screen with a quote from poet T. S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men.” “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.” The miniseries faithfully follows King’s book where a government-created super virus is accidentally released and over the course of a few weeks kills 99% of the population. Like with COVID-19, no one knows why some are immune. The virus wreaks havoc on the lungs. The public wears masks early on in the outbreak and minimizes the seriousness by saying “it’s just the flu.” Recently, King was told by a fan how prescient the book now seems. To that, he simply said, “I’m sorry.” While there is no shortage of pandemic related films, The Stand “stands out” for the strong character development and symbolism, often signatures of King’s work.
The 1994 miniseries, The Stand, was well received. King is optimistic that the reboot will do even better. King and his son, Owen, rewrote a special ending just for the miniseries. They also wrote the last 3 episodes.
Casting was kept quiet in early production, but we now know who will portray the major characters. Whoopi Goldberg/ is playing Mother Abigal, an important symbolic character of hope in the story. Her foil, Randall Flagg is being played by Alexander Skarsgård, best known for his portrayal of Eric on “True Blood”. Other actors in the ensemble cast include James Marsden, who will play Stu Redmen (originally played by Gary Sinise in the 1994 version). Odessa Young will portray Frannie, a character originally played by Molly Ringwald. Others include Heather Graham, Marilyn Manson, Amber Heard, and Katherine McNamara/, known for her role as Clary in the series “Shadowhunters”.
While there is no premiere date yet, there are rumors that it will be released later this year. In the meantime, you may want to add the 1994 miniseries to your Quarantine Watch List. The series is available on YouTube for free. Note that some music is muted due to Copyright.
Written by Michelle Haab
