Everything We Know | The Dark Tower
After decades of attempts, Stephen King's The Dark Tower series is finally coming to theaters.
Over the last 35 years, there have been numerous attempts to adapt King's opus. After talks of a TV series, as well as a series of movies, this year will finally give us The Dark Tower movie. There are no plans for any further films right now, but if the first one does well, there's no reason we shouldn't see more. This is everything we know about The Dark Tower movie.
The Poster
The poster for the movie was released, featuring the three leads of the film. At the bottom, we see Idris Elba as Roland, the Gunslinger, and Tom Taylor as Jake Chambers. At the top of the poster is Matthew McConaughey's Man in Black. The poster also features one of Jake's most famous lines, which Sony has been using to promote the film throughout production "There are other worlds than these."
The Characters
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The Dark Tower is directed by Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) and stars Idris Elba as the Gunslinger, Roland Deschain; Matthew McConaughey also stars as the Man in Black, Walter Padick. Stephen King has voiced excitement over both actors' involvement in the film.
Fans of King's novels will remember that the covers often featured Roland as a Clint Eastwood style stranger. Elba's casting in the movie led to the inevitable complaints that always arise when actors of color play characters that had been previously depicted as white. Elba's catalog is fantastic, featuring roles in The Wire, Luthor, and Beasts of No Nation. Elba has even garnered a lot of attention as Daniel Craig's possible replacement in the James Bond franchise. His turn as Roland in The Dark Tower will absolutely be incredible. And we're not alone in that assumption. Stephen King agrees.
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Roland's sidekick, Jake Chambers, will be played by Tom Taylor. Chambers tweeted a picture of himself in costume as Tom. The film also included one of Tom's most famous quotes from the books.
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Other members of the cast include Kathryn Winnick (Vikings) as Jake's mother Laurie Chambers, Fran Kranz (Dollhouse) as Pimli, and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, Preacher) as the villain Sayre. Abbey Lee Kershaw (Mad Max: Fury Road) has also been cast at Tirana. In the books, Tirana didn't appear until the seventh novel. Expect these movies to take a page from Game of Thrones's book and rearrange some of the source material.
The Sequel
It's no secret that Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) wants to play Eddie Dean, one of the many supporting characters in the Dark Tower novel series. The star even met with Ron Howard, the executive producer of the film, in 2014. But, from all reports, Eddie Dean will not be in the movie. Nor will Susannah. But if this movie earns itself a sequel, you can be sure those characters will show up, regardless of who plays either of them.
The Plot
With characters appearing in an order we didn't see in the books, we expect the plot to be changed for the motion picture. And while we haven't found out much about the plot of The Dark Tower, we did get this tweet from Stephen King that gave us a major hint about what we might find in the film.
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For those that haven't read the novels, this tweet may seem meaningless. The plot of the books centers around Roland, the Gunslinger, who lives a time-loop over and over again. When the last book ends, Roland has restarted his time-loop. But this time he has the Horn of Eld, and with the horn, he might be able to turn things in his favor this time.
Based on King's tweet, it seems like The Dark Tower movie may be a continuation of the story rather than an adaptation. The movie may begin where the last book ended, with Roland restarting his loop, with the Horn of Eld this time.
But what do you think? Are you excited for The Dark Tower? Are you a fan of the books? Are you excited to see McConoughey and Elba in the film? Do you want the movies to be a sequel or an adaptation? Let us know on Twitter and Facebook. And be sure to follow us for all the most recent news on The Dark Tower.