For a while now the franchise based on Stephen King’s novels has almost become a movie, a show, and back and forth, with no project actually seeing completion. We reported back in December of 2014 that the first ‘The Dark Tower’ Film was coming, but the cast and director has since changed.
Now, once again, a Dark Tower film series is in the works. The project is being directed by Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s Nikolaj Arcel, based on a script penned by Akiva Goldsman. The first film of the three film series will focus on King’s first book in the collection, The Gunslinger.
We reported back in November that Matthew McConaughey may be signing on to the project, though at the time he was undecided which role to choose. Now, news has come that Prometheus actor Idris Elba has signed on to play the role of Roland Deschain, “The Gunslinger”, in The Dark Tower. This means that McConaughey has chosen to play the villain of the film, “The Man in Black”.
Elba has appeared in a large array of films and genres, always leaving me impressed by his performances. Not only did he star in Prometheus, he also had roles in Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Unborn, and many other films and shows.
King’s series follows a gunslinger on a life long mission to locate The Dark Tower, the center of the universe, before evil destroys the tower, wiping out the world. The film is set to premiere in theaters on January 13, 2017.