Whoopi Goldberg Joins Stephen King’s The Stand on CBS All Access

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan in Star Trek Generations

Star Trek actor Whoopi Goldberg has joined the cast of the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand. The story is being produced into a miniseries by CBS Television Studios and will be broadcast on CBS All Access.

Goldberg has been cast as Mother Abagail, one of the key characters in the story. From the press release, “THE STAND is Stephen King’s apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.” While it wasn’t announced in the press release, Collider reports that True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard has been cast as Flagg.

This will not be the first adaptation of The Stand; it was produced into a miniseries in 1994 for ABC, and starred an ensemble cast including fellow Star Trek alum Matt Frewer, as well as Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Miguel Ferrer and Ossie Davis, among others. In this new CBS All Access adaptation, Goldberg will join James Marsden, Amber Heard, Odessa Young and Henry Zaga, who were previously announced.

This adaptation of The Stand is written and executive produced by Josh Boone and Ben Cavell, with Boone also directing. Additionally, Stephen King himself will write the last chapter of the series, with new material not found in the book.

The Stand is planned to air as a 10-episode limited series, but there’s no word as yet when that will be.