Samuel L. Jackson Eyes Stephen King's 'Revival,' Josh Boone To Direct Before Making 'The Stand'

Samuel L. Jackson RevivalFor those of you anticipating the big screen version of "The Stand," you’re going to have to wait. Last week, Deadline reported that Warner Bros. option on the film rights has expired, and the project is now back in the hands of CBS Films, who can either go it alone, or find a studio to collaborate with. But director Josh Boone isn’t going to wait around, and he’s got another Stephen King project brewing.

He’ll be writing and directing an adaptation of "Revival," which is currently looking for a studio home. That process might be helped along by Samuel L. Jackson, who EW says is circling the lead role of Charles Jacobs, a preacher who loses faith when his wife and child are killed in a tragic accident. Here’s the book synopsis: 

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs—including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family’s horrific loss. In his mid-thirties—addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate—Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

READ MORE: Stephen King Says Stanely Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ Is "Like A Big, Beautiful Cadillac With No Engine Inside It"

It won’t be Jackson’s first time in a King based movie, having previously starred in "1408," and the recently wrapped "Cell." Clearly, he’s got a thing for the author’s work, so I won’t be surprised if he jumps aboard.

Meanwhile, King has weighed in on "The Dark Tower," the mega-project brewing at Sony that will hit both big and small screens. And he’s confirmed that the last two actors mentioned for major roles are still the ones everybody involved wants. "I think that it’s more likely than not that Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will be in it," he told Rolling Stone. "But I can’t say with any certainty. I know that they’re trying to make deals with these actors [and] with Sony, and that’s the extent of my knowledge."

That being said, even he is unsure if this iteration of "The Dark Tower" will actually get made. "It looks to me like it’s more likely than not it’ll happen at this point,” he said. “Let’s put it that way." Fair enough.