CBS All Access’ adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ may have found its lead in James Marsden, who is reportedly close to signing on to play Stu Redman. It is also reported that Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard, and Greg Kinnear are in the running for roles in the 10-hour miniseries, to be helmed by Josh Boone (‘The Fault in Our Stars’, ‘New Mutants’).
Per Deadline:
Redman is a former military man who is immune to the virus. He found patient zero in the original quarantine zone but never got sick so the government was precious with him in order to try to find a vaccine from his blood.
Marsden has been a busy bee lately. In addition to portraying Teddy on HBO’s ‘Westworld’, he co-starred on Netflix’s ‘Dead to Me’ with Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, and has a role in FX’s upcoming star-studded ‘Mrs. America’, along with Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Sarah Paulson, John Slattery, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Tracy Ullman. He will appear in next year’s ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’, and you may have recently seen him in the Taco Bell Nacho Fries commercial.
RELATED: Stephen King Opens Up About The Upcoming Adaptation Of ‘The Stand’
King previously expressed:
“I’m excited and so very pleased that The Stand is going to have a new life on this exciting new platform. The people involved are men and women who know exactly what they’re doing; the scripts are dynamite. The result bids to be something memorable and thrilling. I believe it will take viewers away to a world they hope will never happen.”
King’s epic novel is set in a world where most of the population is wiped out by a disease. Those that survive struggle to rebuild society, while an evil supernatural force amasses power.
‘The Stand’ was previously adapted into a TV miniseries in 1996, which starred Gary Sinise as Stu Redman.
It isn’t known at this time who Goldberg, Heard, and Kinnear are being eyed to portray. Goldberg is an Academy Award winner, although these days she is perhaps best known for hosting ‘The View’. In December, Heard was seen as Mera in ‘Aquaman’. Kinnear co-starred in the last season of Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’, and appeared on CBS All Access’ ‘The Twilight Zone’.
What do you think of James Marsden portraying Stu Redman in ‘The Stand’?
