James Marsden, Amber Heard, Odessa Young & Henry Zaga Join CBS All Access’ ‘The Stand’ Adaptation
CBS All Access has announced James Marsden, Amber Heard, Odessa Young and Henry Zaga will join their adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling novel ‘The Stand‘. They have also announced that Stephen King himself will write the last chapter of the series, providing a new coda that won’t be found in the book.
‘The Stand’ is Stephen 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 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.
James Marsden will portray Stu Redman, an ordinary working-class factory man in an extraordinary situation with a damaged quality to him that belies his exterior. The actor is probably best known for playing Teddy in ‘Westworld’, but has also recently been starring in brilliant Netflix dark comedy ‘Dead To Me’. In film, he will soon star in the live-action/animation hybrid film ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ and ‘The Comeback Trail’ opposite Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones and Zach Braff.
Amber 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. She recently starred as Mera in Warner Brothers’ ‘Aquaman’ opposite Jason Momoa which was a massive box office success. She can currently be seen in Alex Ross Perry’s ‘Her Smell’ alongside Elizabeth Moss. Other film credits include ‘The Danish Girl’, ‘Pineapple Express’, and ‘Magic MikeXXL’, among others. Additionally, Heard is an activist and uses her platform to advocate for human rights issues. She is an ambassador for Women’s Rights for the ACLU, a Human Rights Champion of the United Nations and is actively involved with SAMS (Syrian American Medical Society), The Art of Elysium, among other organizations.
Odessa Young will play 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. Young will next be seen opposite Elisabeth Moss in the film ‘Shirley’. Her other film credits include ‘Assassination Nation’, ‘A Million Little Pieces’ opposite Aaron Taylor-Johnson and ‘The Professor’.
Henry 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. Zaga has been starring as Jake in Netflix shows ’13 Reasons Why’ which was recently renewed for a 4th and final season, and ‘Trinkets’ which was renewed for a 2nd and final season. He also stars as Sunspot in the long-delayed ‘X-Men: New Mutants‘ movie.
The series will be produced by CBS Television Studios. Josh Boone (‘The New Mutants’, ‘The Pretenders’) and Ben Cavell (‘SEAL Team’, ‘Justified’) will write and executive produce, with Boone (‘The Fault in our Stars’) also directing. Roy Lee, Jimmy Miller and Richard P. Rubinstein will also serve as executive producers with Will Weiske and Miri Yoon as co-executive producers. Knate Lee, Jill Killington and Owen King will serve as producers.
‘The Stand‘ limited series will premiere on CBS All Access in 2020. No news yet on a UK broadcaster, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
