Back in June, it was reported that Greg Kinnear was being sought to co-star in CBS All Access’ miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s novel ‘The Stand’. At the same time, it was stated that the streaming service was eyeing Whoopi Goldberg and Amber Heard, and that James Marsden was on the verge of signing. By August, Marsden’s casting was official, along with Goldberg and Heard’s. But there hasn’t been any further word on Kinnear’s possible involvement, until now.
The Wrap reports that Kinnear has officially joined the cast and that he will portray Glen Bateman:
A widowed professor when the superflu hits, Bateman was accustomed to a solitary life. When he encounters other survivors, his curiosity is piqued by Mother Abagail’s visions.
Kinnear has had a lengthy career spanning TV and film, which began in the ’90s. He has been nominated for an Academy Award (1998, ‘As Good as it Gets’), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award (2007, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’). He recently appeared on the “A Traveler” episode of CBS All Access’ ‘The Twilight Zone’, and co-starred in the final season of Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’.
The Stand is King’s apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old 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.
Alexander Skarsgård stars as Flagg, while Goldberg portrays Mother Abagail. Marsden portrays the story’s main human protagonist, Stu Redman, while Heard portrays one of Flagg’s followers, Nadine Cross.
The cast also consists of:
- Jovan Adepo as former musician and addict, Larry Underwood
- Eion Bailey as Teddy Weizak, who, along with Harold Lauder, is a survivor from Boulder, CO
- Heather Graham as Rita Blakemoor, a wealthy New Yorker, who is ill-prepared for the superflu outbreak
- Brad William Henke as Nick Andros’ mentally challenged companion, Tom Cullen
- Hamish Linklater as Dr. Ellis, an infectious-disease specialist, who envisions himself as the man who will cure the superflu.
- Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry, a small-town girl who hooks up with Lloyd Henreid in Vegas
- Daniel Sunjata as Cobb, a military operative tasked with protecting Stu Redman
- Owen Teague as Harold Lauder, who becomes obsessed with pregnant woman, Frannie Goldsmith
- Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid, a petty criminal who becomes fiercely loyal to Randall Flagg
- Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith, a pregnant woman who realizes how evil Flagg really is
- Henry Zaga as Nick Andros, a young deaf and mute man
- Marilyn Manson in an unknown role (Manson will also provide music.)
Josh Boone co-wrote the screenplay with Ben Cavell, and will direct the ten-episode miniseries. King himself is providing a new ending, which will surprise even those that have read the novel.
Production has begun on ‘The Stand’ with CBS All Access hoping to deliver it sometime next year.
