Stephen King Clarifies That He’s Not Writing Mike Flanagan’s THE DARK TOWER Adaptation
When it comes to adaptations of his work, Stephen King, most of the time, he keeps his distance generally letting filmmakers do their thing. But every now and then, he jumps in himself by writing scripts, shaping the vision, and making sure his fingerprints are all over the final product.
So, when reports surfaced that King was actively involved in writing Mike Flanagan’s upcoming adaptation of The Dark Tower, it seemed like a big deal. Unfortunately, that’s not actually the case.
The source of the mix-up comes from a recent interview where King was asked about the long-awaited adaptation of his epic fantasy/western/sci-fi saga. He gave a carefully worded response:
“All I can say is it's happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that's all I want to say because the next thing you know, I'll stir up a bunch of stuff I don't necessarily want to stir up yet.”
That last part was prophetic because it definitely stirred things up. King shared on Blusky: “Contrary to the Internet (which usually is never wrong), I am NOT writing for Mike Flanagan's DARK TOWER.”
Given King’s past involvement in projects like Lisey’s Story , where he wrote all eight episodes, and The Stand, where he co-wrote the finale with his son Owen, it wasn’t a stretch to assume he was taking a hands-on approach with The Dark Tower. But that assumption turned out to be wrong.
So, what was he actually referring to? While he hasn’t explicitly clarified, the best guess is that he’s talking about his work on a sequel to The Talisman and Black House.
These novels, co-written with Peter Straub, do have some connections to The Dark Tower’s universe—specifically, Mid-World, so his comment may have been referencing that project instead.
Yeah, it’s a little disappointing, but, I still think Flanagan is going to deliver an incredible adaptation, and King is adding another chapter to one of his most beloved book series.
For now, we wait, hope, and keep our fingers crossed for a Dark Tower adaptation worthy of the source material.