Why 'The Stand' Should Kick-Start A Stephen King Movie Universe

Hollywood has been desperately looking for the next incarnation of the Marvel movie universe, a series of interconnected movies that lead to some giant conclusion. Reportedly Warner Brothers is attempting this with their DC Comics-based movies, and FOX wants to get in the game with the "Fantastic Four" reboot. But if you're looking for a truly original way to create a new, unique movie universe, look no further than novelist Stephen King.

The idea started tickling our brains after MTV News talked to writer/director Scott Cooper about his upcoming adaptation of King novel "The Stand." Unfortunately, since we broke that news it was announced that Cooper has since left the project. Though we're disappointed to see the talented director leave, this does create an opportunity for Warner Brothers to embrace the project in a whole new way.

In "The Stand," the enigmatic, potentially demonic Randall Flagg represents everything bad about the post-apocalyptic world of the book. He's an important figure in the novel, a commanding presence, and most importantly Flagg doesn't appear in just "The Stand." In fact, Flagg makes a brief appearance in King's "Hearts In Atlantis," as well as his fantasy novel "Eyes of the Dragon."

But the kicker is that Flagg is the main bad guy throughout King's epic "Dark Tower" series, popping in and out throughout history to torture protagonist Roland Deschain on his quest for the titular building. In these books it's revealed that Flagg has the ability to jump through dimensions, taking many names, and appearing in many different times and places.

This mega-story has allowed King to weave together nearly every other book and short story he's ever written, from the connective locations of Castle Rock and Derry, to little touches like a lost child's shoe in "Pet Sematary" showing up years later in an entirely different novel.

So imagine this for a moment. Rather than Samuel L. Jackson's heroic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury showing up at the end of every Marvel movie, teasing an ultimate "

There are two potentially gigantic problems with this, of course. The first is the amount of time an actor playing Flagg would need to spend on the role. The easy answer is that with a few exceptions, Flagg only makes cameo appearances in the books. And where he does make a major appearance, he's often wearing a different face by using magic. You could have whoever is chosen play the role, sure. Or you could cast other actors, with a brief flash of the main actor late in the movie. Think Tom Hiddleston's "impersonations" in "Thor: The Dark World" and you have the gist.

The second problem is rights. And normally this would be a concern, except most of King's properties (or at least the ones involving Flagg) are all at Warner Brothers. The studio recently passed on a "Dark Tower" adaptation, and previously made a version of "Hearts in Atlantis" without the Flagg character, but that doesn't mean they couldn't reboot both with a strong plan. Warner Brothers also has a remake of King's "It" in the works, which has strong connections to the world of "The Dark Tower," as well as Flagg.

The only adaptations currently in the works that aren't at Warner Brothers are a remake of "Pet Semetary" (at Paramount), "Firestarter" (at Universal), "11/22/63" (optioned by Jonathan Demme, without a studio as of yet), and most crucially "Eyes of the Dragon," which is currently being developed at SyFy.

Still, with several novels already optioned, and numerous others ranging from "The Talisman" and its sequel "Black House," to paired novels "Desperation" and "The Regulators" all having strong ties to Flagg and the "Dark Tower" universe, there's a lot of material to work from.

It may be a pipe dream. It may be too big for any studio to handle. But if someone was to take a chance on creating a unique horror/fantasy universe on screen, it just might be the idea that truly takes what Marvel started to the next level.

via MTV News