Stephen King’s uncut The Stand. A specific question on a difference from the original

I’m listening to the uncut version of The Stand. A scene towards the beginning has me wondering what the original scene was like. It’s one of the chapters with Larry, where he goes to watch A Nightmare On Elm Street at a theater. What movie did he watch in the original version? There’s some mention made of a Roman numeral indicating that a sequel was likely, so I’m guessing he was watching one of the sequels of either Jaws or Rocky.

I don’t recall his going to a movie at all in the original version.

Ah. That scene must be one of the 400 added pages rather than a revision. I should have considered that possibility :sweat_smile:.

A lot of those 400 pages was good stuff. I’m glad he earned enough clout to put out the revised version.

You could be correct about the movie scene, he would definitely revise the movie title for the re-write — you’ll have to ask Steve-o, otherwise, the world may never know. :lollipop: :grin:

The trend of using Roman numerals in film titles started in '74 with The Godfather, Part II, but didn’t really take off until the '80s. The Stand was originally published in '78, which was the same year Jaws II came out, and a year before Rocky II, so unlikely to be a reference to either of those. The Exorcist II and French Connection II were both in theaters early enough to possibly have been referenced in The Stand, but they weren’t big hits, so it’s unlikely.

So, probably new material, not cut material.

Nice detective work, sir.