SF TUESDAY: AMBER HEARD TO LEAD STEPHEN KING'S THE STAND EPIC SF SERIES WITH JAMES MARSDEN! NATASCHA MCELHONE AND OTHERS JOIN PABLO SCHREIBER IN HALO EPIC SF TV SERIES

Two pieces of news today from the sf front  that I'm a bit late in reporting! The TV series adaptation of Stephen King's THE STAND which will air over at CBS All Access is rounding up the cast. After James Marsden, the

Amber Heard will lead the cast with Marsden

latest additions are Amber Heard, Odessa Young and Henry Zaga! It has also been revealed that King will write a new ending of his story just for the show!

  THE STAND
 is set in 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.

 James Marsden will be Stu Redman, an ordinary working class factory man in an extraordinary situation with a damaged quality to him that belies his exterior. Amber Heard will be Nadine Cross, a deeply conflicted woman who feels the consequences of her actions, but is still compelled by her allegiance to Randall Flagg, the Dark Man who is the main enemy of the survivors. Odessa Young is Frannie Goldsmith, a pregnant young woman navigating a strange new world, who also has the

Henry Zaga has also been cast in The Stand sf series

foresight to recognize that there is evil lurking beyond the Dark Man. Henry Zaga will be Nick Andros, a young deaf and mute man who finds himself in a position of authority when the unthinkable happens. He has a habit of risking his own well-being for the safety of others.

Natascha McElhone has join Halo

Over at Showtime, they are also continuing with the casting for their epic sf series adaptation of HALO video game. Natascha McElhone has been set as the lead opposite Pablo Schreiber in the series that will depict an epic 26th century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. McElhone will play both Dr. Catherine Halsey, the brilliant, conflicted and inscrutable creator of the Spartan super soldiers and Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history, and potentially the key to the survival of the human race. Bokeem Woodbine will play Soren-066, a morally complex privateer at the fringes of human civilization. Shabana Azmi will be Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Bentley Kalu will play Spartan Vannak-134, a cybernetically augmented super soldier conscripted at childhood who serves as the defacto deputy to the Master Chief. Natasha Culzac will be Spartan Riz-028, a focused, professional and deadly, cybernetically enhanced killing machine. Kate Kennedy is Spartan Kai-125, an all-new courageous, curious and deadly Spartan supersoldier.