The truth about how Marilyn Manson was almost cast in The Stand
"We were talking to [Manson] early on about playing The Kid, who drives Trashcan Man to Vegas," Cavell told EW. "We thought we were going to be able to restore the character of The Kid, but there really isn't a lot of reason for The Kid to exist."
The Kid is a relatively ancillary role if an interesting one, bestowed with some colorful scenes and dialogue by King's latter-day restoration of his work.
He has a fair amount to do in King's "director's cut" of The Stand, which includes several scenes and expanded material that didn't make it into the original edit. The Kid does not appear in previous adaptations, and Cavell must have ultimately acceded to the reality that the character just doesn't suit a lean telling of the story — hence his original exclusion from the book and reintroduction years later.