The idea of Matthew McConaughey in Josh Boone's new adaptation of 'The Stand' is the best idea since yesterday's rumor that Jennifer Lawrence is being sought for Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight.' But while McConaughey is being eyed for a leading part in the classic Stephen King story, it's not the part you might think.

According to Slashfilm, director Josh Boone wants McConaughey to star in 'The Stand' -- and the first role that may jump to the minds of fans is that of Stu Redman, a guy who hails from a small town in Texas, and one of only a handful of people who are immune to the plague that wipes out most of the population. That role was played in the televised miniseries by Gary Sinise in a perfect bit of casting, and as McConaughey is himself a southern boy, it would make sense.

But Boone has a much different, darker part in mind: that of Randall Flagg, aka the Walkin' Dude. Flagg is the villain of the story, who embodies darkness and amasses a group of misguided followers to work against our group of protagonists in an epic battle of good vs. evil. It's exactly the kind of role we'd love to see McConaughey tackle, and it's right in his wheelhouse: southern, dark, and charismatic as hell.

This is only the second bit of casting news we've heard about Boone's version of 'The Stand,' and it's a good one. Previously, Nat Wolff, who starred in Boone's 'The Fault in Our Stars,' has an undisclosed role in 'The Stand' -- a role Boone specifically wrote for Wolff, which indicates that he's either combined existing characters or written a new one entirely for the film.

Boone is also working on an adaptation of King's novel 'Lisey's Story,' slated for 2015. It was also reported earlier this week that he's being eyed for Universal's reboot of 'The Vampire Chronicles.'

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