Stephen King's pandemic thriller novel The Stand has been turned into a limited series starring Whoopi Goldberg and Alexander Skarsgård and will premiere in the US on CBS All Access this December.

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But now global streaming service STARZPLAY has announced it has acquired the rights to The Stand for international distribution and it will be available to watch in the UK and Europe from 3rd January 2021.

The nine-part series is remarkably timely considering the way the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a grip on the planet in 2020. The Stand revolves around the survivors of a plague, who soon divide into the forces of good, led by Goldberg's character, and those who embrace the opportunity for darkness.

ABC made a four-part series of the novel in 1994 and The Stand 2020 will co-star Dead to Me’s James Marsden, Ezra Miller, Heather Graham, Odessa Young, Amber Heard, Owen Teague and House of Cards’ Greg Kinnear.

When is The Stand released?

The Stand will be released on global streaming platform STARZPLAY on 3rd January 2021 after initially lunching in the US on CBS All Access.

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STARZPLAY is available on a wide variety of platforms, including Apple TV, Prime Video Channels and the STARZPLAY App for iOs and Android.

The Stand cast

The Stand is divided into the good and evil. On the side of light are Whoopi Goldberg as 108-year-old Mother Abagail, a character who unites the survivors of the plague that has decimated the planet. She is added and abetted by Dead to Me star James Marsden, while Alexander Skarsgård is Randall Flagg AKA Darkman, the leader of the dark side.

Ezra Miller is playing a character known as Trashcan Man.

The Stand co-stars Odessa Young, Jovan Adep, Amber Heard (Aquaman), Owen Teague, Henry Zaga (The New Mutants), Brad William Henke (Manhunt), Irene Bedard, Nat Wolff (Death Note, Paper Towns), Eion Bailey, Heather Graham, Katherine McNamara (Arrow,), Fiona Dourif, Natalie Martinez (Death Race), Hamish Linklater, Daniel Sunjata (The Dark Knight Rises) and Greg Kinnear.

The Stand plot

The Stand is Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and caught in a primal battle to the death between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail (Goldberg) and a handful of survivors.

Meanwhile, their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgård), the Dark Man. “The Stand” will close with a new coda written by the famed author himself for this current adaptation.

The Stand showrunner Benjamin Cavell commented on the irony of making a series about a global plague only for the real thing to occur.

“During the two years we spent making The Stand, we all felt the responsibility of adapting what may be the most beloved work of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, but none of us could have imagined that Stephen King’s 40-year-old masterpiece about a global pandemic would come to be so eerily relevant,” he said.

“We’re honoured to tell this sprawling, epic story, including a new coda that Stephen King has wanted to add for decades. We’re so proud of this show and its attempt to find meaning and hope in the most uncertain of times. We can’t wait to share it with the world.”

Stephen King's novel The Stand is available via Amazon.

Is there a trailer for The Stand?

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Buy Stephen King's novel The Stand on Amazon.

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