Old pals and joint Oscar winners for writing "Good Will Hunting," Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are as in-demand as ever, although Affleck is usually in the news for his directing more than his acting these days.

Affleck is the latest name attached to a big-budget adaptation of Stephen King’s sprawling epidemic fantasy novel "The Stand," and, as The Vulture reports, screenwriter David Kajganich has come on board. Word has it that the writer impressed Warner Bros. with his adaptation of another of King's most beloved books, 1986's "It." Roy Lee and Doug Davison will produce both King adaptations.

The "Harry Potter" team of writer Steve Kloves and director David Yates were briefly rumored to be the creative force behind the adaptation, but are no longer associated with "The Stand." The novel was recently turned into a successful comic series at Marvel (pictured).

Affleck ("Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town") will likely direct the film after he finishes the hostage thriller "Argo."

Meanwhile Damon, who spent 2011 fighting a different disease in "Contagion" (and owning a zoo in "We Bought a Zoo"), is having a little more trouble with his next film. He was originally slated to make his directorial debut on an untitled Dave Eggers-penned film in which he and John Krasinski would play corporate rivals in a small town. Things changed when Damon decided just to start and to hand the directing reins over to "Good Will Hunting's" Gus Van Sant. Now, things have changed again, and it appears that Warner Bros. is pulling the plug on the film.

Damon will soon be seen in "District 9" director Neil Blomkamp's sophomore film "Elysium."