Mike Flanagan Reveals the Biggest Mistake His THE DARK TOWER Adaptation Must Avoid
Mike Flanagan has some big plans for Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, and he knows exactly what mistake he needs to avoid if he's going to get this massive fantasy saga right. After Hollywood's first attempt crashed and burned, Flanagan believes the secret to a successful adaptation is to trust the books and let the story unfold the way King intended.
Of course, that's easier said than done when you're dealing with eight novels, an enormous mythology, and a story that connects much of King's literary universe.
Sony Pictures learned that lesson the hard way with its 2017 film adaptation of The Dark Tower, which starred Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger, and Matthew McConaughey as the mysterious Man in Black.
The movie attempted to serve as both an adaptation and a loose sequel to King's novels, cramming elements of the sprawling saga into a single film. The result was a critical and commercial disappointment that left fans frustrated.
Flanagan, who is also developing a television adaptation of King's Carrie, wants to give The Dark Tower the room it needs to tell its story properly. His ambitious plan involves multiple seasons of television, which comes with its own challenges, especially when streaming services aren't always eager to commit to expensive, long-running projects.
While the filmmaker has acknowledged that he'll need to make "little changes" to translate the novels to television, he's promised a "remarkably faithful" adaptation. King himself is reportedly "very happy" with the scripts he's seen for a potential first season.
During an appearance on The Process Unlocked, Flanagan explained that one of the biggest mistakes an adaptation can make is trying to introduce audiences to too much of King's universe too quickly.
His solution is to start with The Gunslinger, the first novel, and build the mythology "one brick at a time," following the same path King took when writing the series.
"That's the way to do it," Flanagan explained. "The problem with the other approaches is people who try to jump in in the middle, or people who try to jump in at a different point. Because you can't throw an audience face-first into this huge universe. It's overwhelming."
He continued: "King did it right, he walked you in starting with two people and nothing else, and walks you one step at a time. So my adaptation was that. It was just doing the books, and doing them in order."
At its heart, the story follows Roland Deschain, a gunslinger traveling through a dying world on a quest to reach the mysterious Dark Tower. What begins as a dark Western gradually expands into a massive adventure involving horror, fantasy, science fiction, alternate realities, and characters connected to King's other novels.
The books also established King's interconnected multiverse long before shared cinematic universes became Hollywood's favorite obsession.
Part of what makes the series so fascinating is how King gradually reveals the bigger picture. Readers aren't supposed to understand everything right away. The mysteries, characters, and mythology develop naturally as Roland's journey continues.
That's also one of the biggest challenges Flanagan faces. Modern television audiences have plenty of options, and The Dark Tower requires patience. The series will need time to introduce its characters and establish its world before exploring the crazier elements of King's mythology.
Flanagan clearly understands that rushing through the material would undermine what makes the books special in the first place.
I'm excited to see what he does with this. The Dark Tower deserves a proper adaptation, and Flanagan has already shown that he understands how to bring King's stories to the screen.
The biggest question now is whether he'll get the time and resources needed to tell the entire story. An eight-book fantasy epic is a huge commitment, but if Flanagan can pull it off, we could finally get the Dark Tower adaptation fans have been waiting for.