Hey guys! Horrorella here...
Long days and pleasant nights!
The film adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower series is as long and involved as the plot of the books itself. It has been in development since pretty much the dawn of time, most recently with Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman trying to get an epic series of films and an interlocking television series off the ground. The project started out at Universal, before bouncing over to Warner Bros. Both studios were interested, but ultimately wound up passing due to the massive scope and pricetag that come with such a herculean (and awesome) undertaking.
But we might be nearing the finish line (and yes, I know we've all heard that before).
Deadline is reporting that Sony is stepping up to take on the project, with the television series being overseen by MRC. They are ready to move forward with a new draft of the script (totally reconceived since the last round of talks at Warner Bros.) by Goldsman and co-writer Jeff Pinker. The script is primarily centering on the events of The Gunslinger, the first book in the series, focusing on the adventures of Roland Deschain and Jake Chambers.
Ron Howard is still on board as a producer (along with Goldsman, Pinker, Brian Grazer and Erica Higgins), but it looks like he will no longer be directing. Sony will reportly be talking with potential directors very soon, in an attempt to get the project fast-tracked and into produciton as quickly as possible.
Also noteworthy is that any casting decisions and rumors that came into play when Howard was taking the reins are now off the table. So although Javier Bardem and Russell Crowe were both in serious talks at various points, the role of Roland won't be finalized until the director is in place and selects his or her own cast.
Says Stephen King:
“I’m excited that The Dark Tower is finally going to appear on the screen,” he said in a statement. “Those who have traveled with Roland and his friends in their search for the Dark Tower are going to have their long-held hopes fully realized. This is a brilliant and creative approach to my books.”
THE DARK TOWER is one of those projects that has been around the block so many times that we all know not to get excited until it actually lands in theaters, but this news has me excited anyway. It is an epic story, and one of my all-time favorites, and I can't wait to see the adventures of Roland and his ka-tet on the big screen.
So I'm keeping a healthy amount of skepticism (it's a risky venture, and we've all seen it reach this point before), but also keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the time the project finally gets some traction.
What do you guys think? Will this be the year THE DARK TOWER finally gets off the ground? Now that the role of Roland could be up for grabs again, who would you like to see in it?
