Whoopi Goldberg Cast in Stephen King's The Stand

Stephen King has written many successful books that eventually went on to be adapted for film and television, and that will soon include a series version of The Stand, which will premiere on CBS All Access. Much of the cast has already been revealed, including James Marsden (Westworld), Amber Heard (Aquaman), Odessa Young (Assassination Nation), Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why), Jovan Adepo (Overlord), Owen Teague (IT), Brad William Henke (Orange Is the New Black), and Daniel Sunjata (The Dark Knight Rises). The latest big name to be announced is Whoopi Goldberg, the legendary actor who won an Oscar for Ghost, starred in Sister Act and The Color Purple, and currently co-hosts The View. According to Variety, Goldberg announced the news while King was a guest on the talk show. It was also revealed that she'll be playing Mother Abagail.

The Stand was previously described as follows:

"The Stand is Stephen King's apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old other 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."

It was also just announced that Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) will be joining the show as Randall Flagg.

The Stand will be one of many new King adaptations, the most recent of which is IT CHAPTER TWO. It was recently revealed that King took more of an active interest in IT CHAPTER TWO than he normally does with the adaptations of his books. In fact, he even went as far as to request the inclusion of specific scenes. While King was certainly in a position to make demands for the film, director Andy Muschietti noted that the author was quite mild-mannered with his requests.

"He gave us a little list of things that he would like to see in the movie," Muschietti shared with io9. "But he is very gentle. He said like, 'Please take this. It is what it is. There are no strings attached.' It was more an affectionate thing with what he remembers of his own work."

Are you excited for The Stand? Tell us in the comments!