When one thinks The Dark Tower onscreen, they more often than not turn their minds to the 2017 adaptation of books 1 and 3 of Stephen King’s epic The Dark Tower series, which starred Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. In the years that have followed, Mike Flanagan announced a new adaptation of The Dark Tower series, and it’s been nearly three years since he embarked on the journey. Despite the many months since, Flanagan has continued to work hard on the project despite having his schedule packed with other projects. The Life of Chuck, Flanagan‘s next movie, arrives theaters nationwide on June 13th, and to promote the film, the filmmaker sat down with ComicBook.
Amidst the conversation surrounding The Life of Chuck, Flanagan found time to assure audiences that The Dark Tower is still in the works, and its slow pace can be attributed to the story and the show’s massive scale. “It’s not that I’ve put it down. It’s just that the thing is so big, it’s like building an oil tanker,” Flanagan explained. “We’ve been moving it forward this whole time. It’s just, that’s how big it is. It’s constantly in the works, and you better believe as often as you guys may want to ask about it, Stephen King is asking me about it more, and I’m not gonna let him down.”
Elba and McConaughey‘s 2017 adaptation was poorly reviewed, with the film trying and failing to mash up various elements of a vast story into one. The rights to the series were purchased by Amazon in 2018, and four years later in 2022, Flanagan signed a first-look deal with Amazon. The 2017 adaptation was directed by Nikolaj Arcel, with the film spending years in development at numerous different studios. Flanagan and producing partner Trevor Macy are working on the series under the umbrella of Intrepid Pictures, despite the slow-paced nature of the series. When Flanagan finally manages to get The Dark Tower erected, it’ll be yet another King adaptation which the filmmaker has worked on following his development of The Life of Chuck.
King Will Be Involved in ‘The Dark Tower’ Series
The Dark Tower franchise follows a gunslinger, Roland Deschain, who lives in a Western world incorporating fantastical elements. Embracing his gunslinger traits, Deschain decides to embark on a journey of discovery, with the mythical Dark Tower located at the center of the universe his proposed final destination. Deschain’s story is told through eight novels and short stories by King, as the quest for the Dark Tower went on to become a wide-ranging epic. Earlier in February this year, it was revealed that King would not only be working with Flanagan to develop the series, but he’s going to have a hand in penning it, saying:
“All I can say is it’s happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that’s all I want to say because the next thing you know, I’ll stir up a bunch of stuff I don’t necessarily want to stir up yet. I’m in process right now, and to say too much feels like a jinx.”
via Collider