The Stand: Alexander Skarsgård to Play Big Bad in CBS All Access Adaptation
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Another member of the Skarsgård family is joining the Stephen King universe. Big Little Lies alum Alexander Skarsgård has boarded The Stand, CBS All Access’ limited-series take on King’s 1978 novel, TVLine has confirmed.
Skarsgård will play the villainous Randall Flagg, a demonic figure who has popped up in several of King’s books. Also known as “The Dark Man” (among other monikers), Flagg tries to construct a new civilization after the world is decimated by a plague. He’s also a major adversary for Mother Abagail, a 108-year-old prophet to be played by Whoopi Goldberg.
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“Like Mother Abagail, Flagg appears in plague survivors’ dreams, but unlike her divine messaging, his ultimate goal is far more sinister,” according to his official character description.
CBS All Access’ adaptation will span nine episodes, with King on board to write the final installment — which will include a new coda that didn’t exist in his original novel. The drama’s cast also includes James Marsden (Westworld), Amber Heard (Aquaman), Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me), Jovan Adepo (The Leftovers), Owen Teague (Bloodline), Brad William Henke (Orange Is the New Black), Henry Zaga (Teen Wolf) and Odessa Young (High Life).
In addition to his Emmy-winning turn on HBO’s Big Little Lies, Skarsgård’s TV credits include True Blood, The Little Drummer Girl and On Becoming a God in Central Florida. His brother Bill, meanwhile, has become a familiar face in King adaptations: He co-starred in the first season of Hulu’s Castle Rock, and he recently reprised the role of demonic clown Pennywise in It Chapter Two.
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