Stephen King’s longest epic, The Stand, landed on CBS All Access in a 2020 television adaptation with many notable names, including Marilyn Manson, attached to the cast — Manson's role, however, was cut. Manson, the popular industrial rock singer/songwriter, was announced to be involved in the project in 2019; he was set to be playing a side character in the show and also recorded a cover of The Doors' "The End" for the series.
After a bumpy road to production, CBS confirmed The Stand series in January of 2019. According to Stephen King, this new adaptation of his 1978 classic is supposed to have a sizable budget and a lot more violence, with CBS giving the show the freedom to recreate the story in the best way they can. This is a notable difference from the 1994 miniseries of The Stand, which was somewhat held back by stricter network television restrictions and content guidelines at the time.
Despite the larger budget and greater freedom, rumors began to circulate in November 2020 that Manson would no longer be involved in the project. Soon, director Josh Boone confirmed that both Manson’s music and acting role had been cut due to a variety of issues, but mostly budgetary concerns.
In an interview with EW, director Josh Boone explained that the show was made on a very tight budget and some of the plans they had for the series ultimately had to be left by the wayside. Apparently, Manson had long been in contact with Boone with the plan that he would play a side character called The Kid, modeled after spree killer Charles Raymond Starkweather, whose main role is to drive Trashcan Man to Las Vegas.
In addition to the budgetary concerns, Manson’s schedule also proved challenging for filming, and he simply wasn’t able to make the shooting dates work. Therefore, Boone decided to cut the entire character and storyline, as he was certain Manson was the only man for the role, saying he still hopes to work with Manson in the future. Manson’s music was another major aspect of his involvement in the show, as he recorded a cover of “The End” by The Doors along with Shooter Jennings, with whom he had worked with as a producer for his latest album, We Are Chaos. Unfortunately, the song ended up being very expensive, and the show wasn’t able to use it due to their tight budget.
When Marilyn Manson’s involvement with The Stand was first announced, many thought he might be cast as the lead antagonist, Randall Flagg, himself, or even Trashcan Man. Knowing that he was supposed to be The Kid makes perfect sense. The Kid is a short, rockabilly-styled guy who artificially boosts his height with a tall hairdo and high-heeled cowboy boots. He drives a heavily customized 1932 Ford deuce coupe, and though he seems charming at first, he’s quickly revealed to be a violent sociopath.
With Manson’s over-the-top stage persona being such a big part of who he is, it’s clear that he could have done a really great job with a role like The Kid, where he would be tasked to play such a big personality. Even though The Kid is a small part of The Stand, Manson could have really added a lot of energy to the show, and it would have been fun to see him get to really perform in an acting role.
That being said, with allegations of Manson being physically and sexually abusive to his former girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood from 2006 to 2010, and other interviews and accusations indicating he has a long history of this behavior, it’s probably better that scheduling and budget issues got between him and The Stand miniseries.