Columbia Pictures
There have been countless films based on the works of Stephen King, going all the way back to Carrie in 1976. There has always been one story, though, that fans thought would never make it to the big screen: King’s epic fantasy series, The Dark Tower. Nonetheless, the tale has indeed been made into a film, and the first trailer for The Dark Tower hit the internet this morning.
Actor Idris Elba (Luthor, The Wire) takes on the lead role as the mysterious Gunslinger. Academy Award-winner Matthew McConaughey plays his foe, the evil Man in Black.
King’s Dark Tower series began with the publication of his 1982 novel, The Gunslinger. The story continued through six more novels, ending in 2004’s appropriately titled novel, The Dark Tower.
In 2012, King published The Wind Through the Keyhole, a new novel that takes place chronologically between the fourth and fifth books in the series. In addition, Marvel Comics produced a prequel comic book series from 2007 to 2009.
The Dark Tower series also serves as a sort of linchpin for all of Stephen King’s written works. Characters and locations from many of his other novels appear in the Dark Tower books, and likewise, there are often references to The Dark Tower peppered throughout his other novels and stories.
As fans of the series will note, the film adaptation is actually a sequel to the original novels wherein Roland relives the story with a number of significant changes.
Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel makes his debut on the film, which is being produced by Ron Howard and Stephen King himself.
A follow-up television series is also in the works, which is expected to star Elba and Tom Taylor, who plays Jake in the film adaptation.
The series will be a prequel, based on the flashback sequences from the novel Wizard and Glass. A younger actor will likely play Roland for the majority of the show.
The Dark Tower will arrive in theaters on August 4, 2017.
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