We learned back in January that the long-gestating new adaptation of Stephen King's weighty, post-apocalyptic tome The Stand was heading for small screens, as director Josh Boone was to bring it to US streaming service CBS All Access. Now we know that James Marsden, Amber Heard, Whoopi Goldberg, Greg Kinnear, Odessa Young and Henry Zaga are all starring in the miniseries.
Marsden (who had been rumoured for the show before) will be Stu Redman, a Texan who is the first man discovered to be immune to the Captain Trips virus that has ravaged the planet. He eventually becomes a leader in a community known as the Free Zone, and is tasked with confronting the evil Randall Flagg. Heard is Nadine Cross, a teacher who believes it is her destiny to stand at Flagg's side.
Goldberg's making a deal to play Mother Abigail, who claims to be a prophet and leads the "good" survivors towards what she sees as a sanctuary in Boulder, Colorado. Kinnear's on to be Glen Bateman, a professor who joins Stu on his journey to meet Abigail, while Young is playing Frannie Goldsmith a young pregnant woman who leaves her devastated community behind and falls for Stu. Finally, we have Zaga locking in to be Nick Andros, a young, deaf-mute grifter.
While Boone is writing much of the miniseries, the exciting news to emerge about the show is that King will write the last chapter, providing a conclusion for the series not found in his 1978 book.