Many people have complained about Stephen King’s ability (inability?) to write proper endings. Like Spielberg, Peter Jackson and the other greats, fans sometimes admit that King spends too much time spinning his wheels instead of getting to the proper denouement. That’s not a complaint I make, I love spending as much time as possible in King’s books! But some have nagged him over the years about it.
Those people will probably be cautiously optimistic of the news that King will write the concluding episode of the upcoming CBS All Access adaptation of The Stand. Even more interesting is the fact that King will be writing a NEW ending for the story, one that CBS calls “a new coda that won’t be found in the book”. So even the most die-hard fans of The Stand will experience something brand new.
What could King’s new ending be? The possibilities are endless. Based on the length of the book, I doubt King’s altered conclusion will revolve around the final showdown between Mother Abagail’s crew and Randall Flagg. Instead I would assume King is writing an epilogue that deals with what happens to our survivors long after the events of the book. While many characters don’t make it to the end of the novel, there is still a large group that do and I would bet King is going to do a lengthy follow-up that shows how society gets back on its feet in the months and years succeeding the book.
Deadline says as much, claiming the new ending won’t be some short afterward but rather a “substantial part” of the finale. I wonder what motivated King to cook up this idea. Is it the fact that he loves writing? Maybe it’s because many have long criticized his ending to The Stand, hurling “deus ex machina” at him for decades. I personally enjoy the ending quite a bit and feel it perfectly enraptures the theme of dark Christianity that’s a major focus of the entire book.
Still, I’m very intrigued and very happy to see King have such a major part of this adaptation. He’s obviously very confident in director Josh Boone’s ideas and likes the filmmaker. King’s decision to write a new ending for the story further cements his claims that this limited series is going to be something very faithful and special. Now let’s make sure the horror master has a cameo in it somewhere.