Scott Cooper Eyes Stephen King's The Stand

With the formerly attached Ben Affleck now set for some caped crusading, Warner Bros.' adaptation of The Stand is in need of someone else to helm. The Hollywood Reporter today brings word that Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper has entered negotiations to do just that.

Previously adapted as a television miniseries in 1994, "The Stand" tells the story of a full-scale apocalypse, driven by the accidental release of a biological weapon and the ensuing struggle of good versus evil carried out by the world's final survivors.

Cooper's second feature, Out of the Furnace, is scheduled to hit theaters on December 6 with a cast that includes Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, Zoe Saldana and Sam Shepard.