Doug Liman to direct big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand

THR reports that Doug Liman is set to direct The Stand for Paramount Pictures. The novel, which is considered to be one of Stephen King’s best, deals with a deadly pandemic that kills nearly the entire population. The survivors are drawn to two opposing communities, one led by the kind, prophetic Mother Abagail and the other by the sinister, demonic Randall Flagg. This all leads to a final battle between good and evil. The search is now on for a writer to tackle the project. In addition to directing, Liman will also produce alongside Tyler Thompson of Cross Creek Pictures.

At 1,152 pages, The Stand is King’s longest book. While you might think that Paramount will be viewing this as something that will span multiple films, sources tell THR that “Liman and the studio have a particular take and that the feature would be a one-off, not a multi-movie endeavor.” Perhaps this means the movie will be a more pared-down version of the novel, not a straight adaptation of the sprawling tale.

The Stand has been adapted twice before, both times on television. The first miniseries was released in 1994 and boasted a cast which featured Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Miguel Ferrer, Rob Lowe, Ed Harris, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and more. The second debuted on Paramount+ in 2020 and starred James Marsden, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Amber Heard, and more.

There has been talk of a movie adaptation for years, with zombie maestro George A. Romero once slated to direct the project in the late ’70s.

Liman is also working on Deeper, an underwater supernatural thriller which will reunite him with Tom Cruise. The film follows “a disgraced astronaut who embarks on a mission to reach the bottom of a newly-discovered oceanic trench, which some speculate may be the lowest point on Earth. Facing great danger, he quickly finds himself in a physical and psychological fight against mysterious forces.” Ana de Armas will star alongside Cruise in the film. Of course, there’s also the long-in-development space project, which will see Liman and Cruise actually go into outer space.

Do you think Doug Liman is a good choice to direct Stephen King’s The Stand? How do you feel about it (potentially) being just one movie?

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