Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER Film Adaptation Finds Funding!
Art by Michael Whelan
I feared that the big screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower book series had died. Thankfully, it's alive and well! Deadline is reporting that the first installment of the film franchise has found its funding with a team up between Sony Pictures and MRC.
This will be the first of several planned films that Sony will distribute, and the complementary TV series that will bridge the gap between the films is also still in play and being developed by MRC.
The most recent version of the script was written by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner, and it is based on the first book in the series, The Gunslinger. The horror/fantasy film will center on the relationship between Roland and Jake. This is apparently a totally reconceived version of the script from when the project was set up at Universal Pictures.
Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Erica Huggins are producing. There's no word on if Howard is still attached to direct, but the report says that Sony and MRC are on the hunt for filmmakers to take on the project now. King had this to say in a statement:
“I’m excited that The Dark Tower is finally going to appear on the screen. Those who have traveled with Roland and his friends in their search for the Dark Tower are going to have their long-held hopes fully realized. This is a brilliant and creative approach to my books.”
Sony Picture Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman added:
“There are few projects out there that compare with the scope, vision, complex characters and fully drawn world that Stephen King has created with The Dark Tower. I am a giant fan. And, as Stephen himself does, we love the direction that Akiva and Jeff have taken. This is a great opportunity for a director to put his or her stamp on a cool global franchise.”
Over the years, Javier Bardem, Russell Crowe, and Aaron Paul have all been linked to the film. I imagine that's no longer the case. I'm just ecstatic the the movie is finally actually going to move forward! It's about damn time.