Stephen King’s ‘magnus opus’ dark fantasy series, The Dark Tower, is finally getting the big screen adaptation it’s been associated with for the last ten years or so. With a mammoth eight books in total in King’s original series, the film always had a pretty significant challenge ahead of it, so we’re expecting a fair amount of creative license to be able to cram it all into a single film.
The trailer for the film arrived on the 3rd May 2017, giving us a much better idea of what to expect, with Matthey McConaughey and Idris Elba trading blows in a series of Tweets as a teaser a day earlier. It’s looking like its going to be a searing adventure when it comes out on the big screen and with such a blend of genres to the story it’s done well to hone in on a fairly distinct visual style. The book combined sci-fi, western, fantasy and horror to deliver its quest for the tower at the centre of the story and they’re all interwoven within the framework of the trailer.
Release date
The Dark Tower has been slated for a UK release date of Friday the 18th August 2017 following on from it’s arrival at the US box office on the 4th August, and with the recent launch of the trailer, there’s a lot of hype for the release. It’ll be out in the UK on the same weekend as the odd white sheet haunting drama that is A Ghost Story and action comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds.
Story
Set within the slowly decaying land of Mid-World, the film will trace the journey of Roland Deschain, a.k.a. The Gunslinger, who has set out to find the mystical Dark Tower in a bid to save it from being toppled and protecting the universe from the potential devastation of the Crimson King. He’s not alone in his quest as Walter O’Dim, an evil sorcerer also know as the Man In Black, has also set himself on a course for the Tower to destroy it, setting the scene for a very grim adventure.
However, things become more intricate with the introduction of a kid from New York City, who has been having visions of the eternal struggle in Mid-World between the two. When he locates a portal to the other world, he joins the Gunslinger in his quest, putting him directly in the sights of Walter as a result. From the look of the trailer, it looks as though the battle will bridge both the worlds in a bid to save the Tower, which is the nexus that holds the universe together.
Cast
Idris Elba (Thor: Ragnarok) takes on the task of playing the gunslinger frontiersman, Roland Deschain, and Matthew McConaughey (Interstellar) stars as the dark-cloaked sorcerer. Tom Taylor plays Jake Chambers, the kid with the visions from New York. The cast also includes Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age Of Ultron), Fran Kranz (The Cabin In The Woods), Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Jackie Earle Haley (RoboCop (2014)).
Production
The film has been directed by Nicolaj Arsel from a screenplay that has been written by Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinknern, Nicolaj Arsel and Anders Thomas Jenson. It’s been produced by Akiva Goldsman Brian Grazer Ron Howard Erica Huggins. Check out more from the production with official The Dark Tower Twitter page .
First impressions
Stephen King adaptations have always been fairly significant in the history of TV and cinema and we’re predicting that it’ll be the same for The Dark Tower. The cast selection may not match the visual direction of the book, which favoured more of a Clint Eastwood-like Gunslinger, but it’s good to lead out with a shake-up, especially with the difficult challenge of bringing the combined weight of the books to life on the big screen in just one film. Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey look impressive in the trailer, so things are shaping up for a big release.
