Fran Kranz Joins Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba in THE DARK TOWER

Fran Kranz, one of Joss Whedon's go-to actors who you might recognize from Dollhouse, The Cabin in The Woods, or Much Ado About Nothing, has joined the growing cast of The Dark Tower.

The film adaptation of Stephen King's series of novels already has Idris Elba locked for gunslinger Roland Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as the evil Man in Black, Tom Taylor as the young Jake Chambers, Jackie Earle Haley as Richard Sayre, and Abbey Lee as Tirana. We already knew that the movie would not be a straight adaptation of the first book in the series, and Kranz's casting further confirms that fact: according to THR, he's playing Pimli, who doesn't even show up until the seventh book in the series.

I've only read the first novel, The Gunslinger, so I'm a little out of my depth here, but this character is described as "the right-hand man of the Man in Black," so it appears Kranz will be appearing in a supporting capacity. He's worked really well in roles like that before, and I can easily see him offering some comic relief alongside McConaughey. I know a lot of big Dark Tower fans who are worried about the way they're handling this adaptation, but I'm glad to see Kranz getting more high-profile work. If you've read the books, what do you think about him as Pimli?

Nikolaj Arcel is directing, and The Dark Tower hits theaters on February 23, 2017.