Since word broke that a big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand was in the works, we genuinely were excited.
Whether or not you're a fan of The Stand, Stephen King's work has always translated extremely well to film. Misery, The Shining, Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, The Mist, Carrie - they've all been exceptionally well-made films by directors at the top of their powers.
However, when we heard that Josh Boone, director of cancer-teen tragedy The Fault In Our Stars, was helming the thing, we got a little bit reticent. Surely you'd need somebody like Rob Reiner or original director Ron Howard to take it on, right? Well, for the moment at least, we can breathe a sigh of relief as The Stand is officially on the backburner.
Essentially, Warner Bros. took too long to get the film into production. Despite verbal commitments from their cast and Boone submitting a few drafts of a screenplay, the option ran out before it could be gotten into production and the rights have now reverted back to CBS Films.
What happens next is uncertain. Josh Boone has moved on to another Stephen King adaptation, Revival, about a preacher who loses faith and becomes obsessed with bio-electrical conduction and, in turn, raises his own cult. This means that, for the moment anyway, he won't be directing The Stand. Warner Bros. could potentially put the film out to another studio and let them produce, but it's unlikely.
Warner Bros. have been trying to get both The Stand and The Dark Tower off the ground for quite some time, with no luck so far. The Dark Tower's changed hands so many times - Ron Howard, JJ Abrams and Nikolaj Arcel were all involved at one point, although apparently Arcel now has it in pre-production for a 2017 release. Meanwhile, The Stand looks set to continue being King's biggest unadapted work to date.
Via Deadline
