CBS All Access released the full trailer for the upcoming miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Stand. The new preview for the post-apocalyptic series was unveiled at this year's virtual edition of New York Comic-Con.

Published in 1978, King's The Stand depicts a post-apocalyptic world in which nearly the entire world population has been killed by a weaponized strain of influenza created in a U.S. Department of Defense laboratory. In the aftermath of the immeasurable loss, the few survivors establish new societies, divided into two factions that eventually come into conflict with each other.

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Set to a slowed-down version of "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley and the Wailers, The Stand trailer opens with survivors preparing to make their final stand in the battle between good and evil. As with King's novel, the two factions will have to choose between siding with one of two figures haunting their dreams, Mother Abigail and Randall Flagg. While Abigail, who receives visions from God, tries to lead the survivors down the right path, Flagg, a.k.a. the Dark Man, is determined to steer them towards the darkness. "The Dark Man grows stronger every day," says Mother Abigail of the stakes at hand in the series. "Soon he'll destroy all who stand against him."

The Stand was previously adapted for television as a 4-episode miniseries for CBS in 1994. The story had also been adapted as a Marvel Comics series by writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who based this iteration on King's Complete and Uncut Edition of the novel. CBS All Access' adaptation of The Stand will consist of 10 episodes, the last of which was written by King, who penned new material that serves as a coda to the original novel.

While the novel may contain fantasy elements, the story was inspired by the real-world disaster in which six thousand sheep in Utah were accidentally killed by a nerve gas leak caused by a U.S. Army weapons test. Known as the 1968 Dugway incident, the event prompted King to wonder how the disaster might have unfolded had the wind blown the gas towards Salt Lake City.

Unfortunately, a television series centered on a global pandemic may not be what audiences are looking for when it comes to escapist fantasy. With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to take lives and devastating people's livelihood, The Stand may hit a little too close to home these days.

The Stand will premiere exclusively on CBS All Access on Thursday, December 17.

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Source: CBS All Access/YouTube