Stephen Kings The Stand closing on new director

Stephen King’s The Stand may finally be moving towards the big-screen adaptation it has long been threatening, with The Wrap reporting that Josh Boone is close to agreeing a deal to write and direct.

The The Fault In Our Stars director will come aboard to replace the recently departed Scott Cooper, who dropped out of the project citing creative differences with the studio.

Cooper is just the latest in a long line of directors to have been flummoxed by how to adapt King’s sprawling, apocalyptic novel for the big screen, with the likes of David Yates and Ben Affleck both admitting defeat in their attempts.

The novel tells the tale of a crippling plague that wipes out the majority of American civilisation, with a small group of survivors banding together to face down the villainous Randall Flagg.

The Wrap reports that Boone is planning “a single, R-rated movie that will be faithful to the book”. Easier said than done when it comes to The Stand , but we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for him…