Idris Elba Could Play Roland Deschain in THE DARK TOWER
It looks like Sony Pictures may have found their man to take on the role of the gunslinger, Roland Deschain, in the long-awaited adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower. There's no official deal in place yet, but Elba is the front-runner for the role. I hope he gets it! There's no doubt that he would be awesome in the film! I'd love to see his take on the character. If cast, he could join Matthew McConaughey, who’s in talks to play the villainous Man in Black.
The other actor that Elba is up against for the role is Javier Bardem, so if for some reason things don't work out for Elba, then Bardem is the man who could be taking on the gunslinger. This will be a huge undertaking for any actor.
There are eight novels in The Dark Tower that follow the character Deschain and his journey across a ruinous world to reach the titular tower. The plan is still in place for this to be the first of possibly three films, and there's a tie-in TV series that is also being developed as a complimentary piece to those films.
Nikolaj Arcel is directing the film from a script most recently written by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. The film will be based on The Gunslinger book in the horror/fantasy series. In that story, Roland is in pursuit of a shady villain called the Man In Black who also goes by several different names including Randall Flagg, Walter Padick, and Richard Fannin, to name a few. It will also establish Roland's relationship with his young protege, Jake Chambers.
The Dark Tower opens in theaters on January 13th, 2017. What do you think about Elba possibly taking on the lead role in the film?
Source: Deadline