Possible Ending For The Stand Adaptation

The good people at Jo Blo have a story on the developing big screen adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic epic the Stand. The purported ending of a recent script has been leaked which, if accurate, does not bode well. Here's the ending;

In this version, from last year, the good guy survivors from Boulder get together in an army and march on Las Vegas to kill Randall Flagg. Flagg's headquarters is, of course, the Luxor Pyramid. The Boulderites invade the city while, off to the east, a squad fights at the Boulder Dam - which Trashcan Man explodes, killing Larry Underwood and sending a deadly flood to Vegas. In the city Flagg squares off against hero Stu Redman... who now has the power of God, and they have an Akira-like battle on the Las Vegas Strip, with Flagg trying to take Stu's magic. Cars are thrown, Excalbur's turrets are tossed, the people of Vegas are used by Flagg as disposable cannon-fodder. Meanwhile Nick Andros sacrifices his life taking out a howitzer. The Boulder forces, while armed, try to only take prisoners and rescue people from being under Flagg's evil spell. It all comes down to Flagg and Stu, and whether or not Stu will absorb Flagg's evil magic.

And there's a mid-credits tag that sets up a sequel. Yes, a The Stand 2.

Wow, that sounds horrible. It is clear that the creative team does not understand the novel at all. To turn King's ending, which is a test of faith and courage in the face of evil, into some boring CG fight is stupid idea. While novels and movies are different animals, if you miss out on a big part of the book - that faith isn't as flashy as worldly power, but that it is more effective, that quiet self-sacrifice is more heroic than violence and that the lust for power leads to one's own destruction.

As for sequels, the novel is perfectly set up for a trilogy, as is. In fact, as I recall, the novel is divided into three parts. This whole idea sounds like a typical Hollywood approach to a property that, apparently, is too subtle (which is something I never thought about The Stand) for them to adapt without resorting to video game aesthetics.

Source: Jo Blo