The Stand (2020 series)

• TV Show

• CBS All Access

• Fantasy
• Horror

The director of the new version of Stephen King's The Stand is looking to set the record straight on that Marilyn Manson rumor.

The goth rocker has been rumored to be secretly a part of the CBS All Access limited series for months, perhaps in the role of the pyromaniac Trashcan Man. Then after an EW report last week that Fantastic Beasts actor Ezra Miller was cast in the role of Trash, rumors continued that Manson must have shot footage for another role, The Kid, and was cut out of the production.

“Just to clarify, Marilyn Manson and I had long-discussed him taking on the role of The Kid in The Stand," Josh Boone, who directed the premiere and finale, wrote in an email. "He and the great Shooter Jennings even recorded a killer cover of The Doors song, 'The End,' that ultimately proved too expensive to use. The show was made on a very tight budget and some of the dreams we had went to the wayside. The Kid was another casualty. When Manson wasn't able to make it work schedule-wise, the storyline was ultimately excised and never shot, which is for the best, as no one could have slayed that role like Manson would have. Hope to work with him in the future."

The Kid is a character from King's extended version of his 1978 post-apocalyptic novel. The character is a pure psychopathic who drives a classic hot rod and has a fanatical love of Coors beer. The character isn't essential to the story, however, as his narrative purpose is simply helping drive Trashcan Man to Las Vegas.

"We thought we were going to be able to restore the character of The Kid, but there really isn’t a lot of reason for The Kid to exist," showrunner Benjamin Cavell previously told EW.

In the show, a plague kills 99.4 percent of humanity, leaving thousands of struggling survivors scattered across the United States. A Boulder-based group of largely "good" people is led by the angelic Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg) while a Vegas team is led by the demonic Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard).

The cast also includes James Marsden as Texas everyman Stu Redman, Odessa Young as the heroic Frannie Goldsmith, Jovan Adepo as troubled musician Larry Underwood, Amber Heard as the mysterious Nadine Cross, and Owen Teague as the bitter Harold Lauder.

Filling out the cast is Henry Zaga as Nick Andros, Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen, Irene Bedard as Ray Bretner, Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid, Eion Bailey as Weizak, Heather Graham as Rita Blakemoor, Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry, Fiona Dourif as Rat Woman, Natalie Martinez as Dayna Jurgens, Hamish Linklater as Dr. Jim Ellis, Daniel Sunjata as Cobb, and Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman.

The limited series premieres on CBS All Access on Thursday, Dec. 17.

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Author:James Hibberd - Source: EW