The Stand Adaptation

As long as humans have had sight, they’ve looked at the sun and the stars and wondered what lay beyond, in the vast black of space. They’ve also gazed in wonder at Stephen King’s greatest work, that totemic tome of post-apocalyptic fiction that is The Stand and wondered just who, of the current crop of wunderkind directors would direct the movie adaptation.

To give context; a man-made virus ravages the population, killing all but a chosen few, who remain inexplicably unaffected. These survivors gather, in two separate groups, and square off in the desert.

It’s been adapted before, as a little-seen TV miniseries, but that counts for nought really. This is a big film, or maybe a big series of films, that would require a big director. One who can handle giant landscapes and the epic scale of the novel.

There’s a few who would be up to the task of making this film artistically credible, but mainstream – David Cronenberg, PT Anderson, Guillermo del Toro would all be exciting names for the marquee, but unfortunately they all seem to have pretty full dance-cards for the next few years.

Reports suggest that Ben Affleck turned down the movie; who can say why? Perhaps it’s because he didn’t feel up to the task, or maybe it’s down to him being seemingly hewn from wood. Either way, it’s a great novel that, in the right hands, could be a great film – it just seems to be taking a while to find that pair of hands.