In June, we learned that James Marsden and Amber Heard were among the actors that were being eyed for CBS All Access’ adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’. Now it is official, Marsden and Heard have officially signed on, along with Odessa Young and Henry Zaga. This limited series was written by Josh Boone and Ben Cavell, but King himself will be writing a new ending which will make this story different from the novel and past adaptation. Boone is directing.
In ‘The Stand’, humanity has been decimated by a plague and caught in a struggle between good and evil. “The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old other Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.”
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Marsden will play Stu Redman, “an ordinary working-class factory man in an extraordinary situation with a damaged quality to him that belies his exterior.” Stu is immune to the plague that has wiped out much of humanity. He is a former military man, and he discovered patient zero in the quarantine zone, but he never got sick himself.
From Deadline:
Heard will play Nadine Cross, “a deeply conflicted woman who feels the consequences of her actions, but is still compelled by her allegiance to Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.”
Young is Frannie Goldsmith, “a pregnant young woman navigating a strange new world, who also has the foresight to recognize that there is evil lurking beyond the Dark Man.”
Zaga will portray Nick Andros, “a young deaf and mute man who finds himself in a position of authority when the unthinkable happens. He has a habit of risking his own well-being for the safety of others.”
It was previously reported that Whoopi Goldberg, and Greg Kinnear were also being eyed, but no word yet on their casting.
Heard might be best known for playing Mera in ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Justice League’. Young won awards for her role on the series ‘High Life’. She recently appeared in the movies ‘The Professor’, ‘A Million Little Pieces’, and ‘Assassination Nation’. Zaga stars as Luka on the Netflix series ‘Trinkets’. He previously worked with Boone on the ‘X-Men’ spin-off movie ‘New Mutants’ which hasn’t been released (and may not get released).
‘The Stand’ is now in production and is expected to be released next year.
