Matthew McConaughey is reportedly being sought after by Warner Bros for a role in their big screen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, The Stand. According to an exclusive from Deadline, the True Detective and Dallas Buyers Club star would play Randall Flagg, the primary villain of the story.

Flagg is a sort of cult leader and evil messianic figure who reigns over an oppressive community in a post-apocalyptic version of Las Vegas. Flagg also appears in several other King novels, including The Dark Tower series as a dimension-hopping magician called Walter o’Dim (one of the many names he uses).

It would be interesting to see McConaughey reprise the role (if he in fact accepts it) in a Dark Tower movie, if an adaptation ever gets off the ground – Warner Bros was at one point interested in adapting the series, but that no longer seems to be the case. The concept would be similar to Michael Keaton playing the character Ray Nicolette in both Jackie Brown and Out of Sight – both are adaptations of novels by Elmore Leonard but neither is a direct sequel or prequel to the other.

Flagg was previously played by Jamey Sheridan (TV’s Arrow) in the 1994 TV miniseries based on The Stand.

The Fault in Our Stars director, Josh Boone is set to helm Warner Bros’ Stand film.