Stephen King went on social media to insist comparisons of The Stand, including one made by actor James Marsdsen who stars in the TV latest adaptation of the novel, to the coronvirus are wrong.
The acclaimed author tweeted that ‘No, coronavirus is NOT like THE STAND,’ Sunday night.
‘It’s not anywhere near as serious. It’s eminently survivable. Keep calm and take all reasonable precautions’
Author Stephen King went on social media to insist comparisons of The Stand, including one made by actor James Marsden who stars in the TV latest adaptation of the novel, to the coronvirus are wrong
King assures in a tweet that the coronavirus outbreak is ‘NOT’ like his novel The Stand, and assures that ‘it’s eminently survivable’
King’s reaction came after several people, as well as actor James Marsden – who stars in the latest TV adaptation of the 1978 novel – compared the virus to the current outbreak.
In the post-apocalyptic, horror and science fiction thriller, a deadly influenza virus known as Captain Trips is created in an army lab and triggers a worldwide pandemic.
There is no cure or vaccine for the disease, which ends up killing 99 per cent of the world’s population.
The virus also cause the complete collapse of society, prompts the military to censor information about the killer virus, and leaves only a handful of survivors in a state of confusion and grief.
The book was King’s fourth novel and longest, stand-alone book.
It originally was turned into miniseries starring Gary Senise in 1994, and is now being adapted into a ten-episode, limited series for CBS Access starring Marsden.
The Sonic the Hedgehog and Westworld star plays Stu Redman, the hero character of the novel originally played by Senise in the miniseries, which also stars Molly Ringwald, of the 1980s brat pack fame.
Marsden on the new production’s set in Vancouver, Canada, told Variety and iHeart’s The Big Ticket podcast that working on the new adaptation as the coronavirus outbreak was unfolding had been unsettling.
James Marsden, star of the blockbuster hit Sonic the Hedgehog, is playing the hero character in the new adaptation of The Stand. Marsden commented in an interview that working on the new version of the story while the coronavirus outbreak was unfolding has been unsettling
Actors Gary Senise and Molly RIngwald pictured in the original miniseries version of The Stand from 1994
The book was King’s fourth novel and longest, stand-alone book
‘There are scenes in the beginning of The Stand where as soon as you see someone who looks normal sneeze or cough into their arm, everyone’s eyes in the room darts towards them,’ he explained.
‘I see that in public now, and everyone kind of takes a few steps away from the person. It’s crazy. We’re in full panic mode right now.’
Others online have made comments they too recalled the novel as the deadly flu-like virus known officially as CODVID19 has spread from its origin point in Wuhan, China, across the globe since December.
So far, the virus has been blamed for more than 3,800 deaths, including 22 in the U.S., and has plunged the world’s financial markets amid fears that it will grow into a global pandemic.
One Twitter user named John Talbott, who goes tweets as Johmakarov380, speculated whether it was ‘strange to think the coronavirus is the next Captain Trips?’
A tweet from clayhead123 claims the Twitter user was half-way through the novel and that it had make him ‘a LITTLE more nervous’, adding the hasthags #thestand, #coronavirus, #CaptainTrips and #TheFlu.
Twitter user John Talbott speculated whether of not she should refer to the coronavirus as ‘the next Captain Trips?’
A tweet from clayhead123 claims the Twitter user was half-way through the novel and that it had make him ‘a LITTLE more nervous’
A Twitter user who posts as Chelsea84T wrote that she was calling the coronavirus ‘#CaptainTrip,’ in a reference to the killer virus from The Stand. Her post includes an image of the original 1994 miniseries adaptation of the Stephen King novel.
Another Twitter user who posts as Chelsea84T and describes herself as a mental health advocate from Alabama alluded to the federal government’s delay in addressing the outbreak and its miscommunications to the public.
The Twitter user writes that she doesn’t trust the government nor the the media.
‘From now on, I’m calling it #CaptainTrip,’ she proclaims in her post, which includes a scene from the original miniseries showing a crow, hinting at an impending doom.
Another Twitter user who goes by Fatal1ty67 wrote that he felt like he was living his favorite novel of all time ‘for real,’ showing the an emoji of a skull.
‘Is Randall Flagg out there somewhere #CaptainTrips,’ wrote the Twitter user, who describes himself as married with two ‘beautiful kids’.
The Flagg mention was a reference to the novel’s villain, a supernatural madman named Randall Flagg.
Flagg was played by actor Jamey Sheridan in the original miniseries.
Alexander Skarsgård plays Flagg in the new version.