WB Hoping For Harry Potter Magic on The Stand

Huge news over at HitFix. Warner Brothers is closing in on deals for David Yates and Steve Kloves to, respectively, direct and write a new multi-film version of Stephen King's The Stand.

As a fan of King's work, particularly The Stand, this is the news-item of the week for me. The 1994 television mini-series Mick Garris spearheaded is good, mind you. But at times you felt the restrictions of network-television in terms of both the book’s content and just the budget. Remember how cheap the hand of God looked on the small screen?

They're not saying at the moment how many films are on docket, but we're all assuming a trilogy. If you've read the book (and if you haven't do so), then you know there's enough material to fill three two-hour theatrical features. Having adapted all but one of the Harry Potter books (with the exception of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix), Kloves can pull this off with King's one, admittedly complex, novel and Yates managed to exceed everyone's expectations with Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows – Part II making it the most successful and, in my opinion and that of many others, best installment of the franchise.

Issues like casting and how much WB will allow them to get away with (As much as I'd love to see it, I can't imagine them signing off on a big-budget hard-R rated trilogy in this environment) are topics for another day. But The Stand is getting the big screen treatment and that's news to celebrate.