Josh Boone Praises Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ As America’s Version Of ‘The Lord Of The Rings’

Josh Boone has to be feeling the pandemic a little bit more than some people these days. Just as The New Mutants director is wrapping up his duties promoting that film’s intensely scrutinized theatrical release, he’s switching gears to showcase his upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand for CBS All Access. The book, which famously centers around a deadly virus, might seem like a poor choice of themes right now, but that would be an unfair judgment of the story, which Boone describes as King’s love letter to a fantasy great.

In a new interview with SyFy, Boone explains how The Stand was directly inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. While an apocalyptic virus does factor into the story, and makes for catchy headlines, Boone emphasizes how King set out to write his own grand tale of good versus evil that’s on par with The Lord of the Rings:

While one side of humanity starts to re-form civilized society around the clairvoyant and wizened Mother Abigail, another segment of immune survivors rally around the malicious and power-hungry Randall Flagg (who’s also got supernatural abilities). What ensues is an epic struggle between good and evil.

“I think it’s one of the great American novels. I think it’s sort of The Lord of the Rings, but in America,” Boone said.

King has also been heavily involved in the new series and has been touting a new ending that he wrote specifically for the show. It’s a story that he’s been sitting on for over 30 years, and while the details have been kept under wraps, Boone teased a little of what to expect from King’s updated climax. Via Coming Soon:

“King wrote us a lovely coda. Which is sort of the story he’s wanted to tell for a long time that takes place immediately after The Stand that provides an additional resolution for Franny, who’s sort of not involved in the climax of the book, which I thought was really, really brilliant and a deeply moving script.”

Stephen King’s The Stand premieres December 17, 2020 on CBS All Access.