THE DARK TOWER Finds Its Stars
Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series moves closer to the big screen with Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey set to star. Entertainment Weekly reports confirmation of long-standing rumors that Elba will play the gunslinger, joining.McConaughey as the man in black.
Efforts to adapt the series date back to at least 2007. King told EW he is “delighted” and “surprised” that the series, which spans eight novels and flows into short stories and comics, is finally getting adapted:
“The thing is, it’s been a looong trip from the books to the film …When you think about it, I started these stories as a senior in college, sitting in a little sh-tty cabin beside the river in Maine, and finally this thing is actually in pre-production now.”
With all those titles to choose from, King says the film will not start at the beginning with 1982’s The Gunslinger (PRH/NAL, trade pbk. 2003)
“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story.”
EW speculates on which book might take center stage, guessing it could be “The Waste Lands (PRH/NAL, trade pbk 2003.), the third book in the series, which is where much of King’s broader tower mythology began to coalesce.”
As recently as Oscar Sunday, Elba had been rumored to be a key contender for the next 007. While that could still happen, it is certain that Elba has his next hero character all lined up.
Sony plans to release the movie on Jan. 13, 2017 (UPDATE: Release moved to 2/17/17).