A feature film adaptation of The Dark Tower has been in development for a long, long time. A number of directors have tried to crack the Stephen King source material, including J.J. Abrams, but most recently Ron Howard has been barreling forward with an ambitious adaptation that would involve three feature films and a television element. Howard initially developed the project at Universal before the studio passed over budget concerns, then Warner Bros. considered picking it up, only to subsequently back out. When last we heard, Howard said he was still developing the project but he and producer Brian Grazer had agreed to no longer comment on the film’s progress or timetable.
This brings us to Sundance, naturally. Aaron Paul has long been a fan-favorite to play the character of Eddie Dean in The Dark Tower, and while promoting his new film Hellion at the Sundance Film Festival, Paul revealed that he has indeed met with Howard to discuss the role. Read on after the jump.
Speaking with Ain’t It Cool News, Paul revealed that he’s met with Ron Howard about potentially playing Eddie Dean in an eventual The Dark Tower film:
“I've had a ton of meetings on that. I just had a general sit down with Ron Howard, who is a huge fan of the show (Breaking Bad, naturally), which is such a crazy thing to even think that Ron Howard even knows who I am. They're definitely planning on making it.”
Though the actor admitted that he hasn’t read all of the Dark Tower books, he seemed pretty enthused about the prospect of joining Howard’s adaptation:
“I'm excited. Their goal is to do three films, but also have a television element to it, which will be very interesting. From what I hear, Eddie Dean is a pretty epic, iconic character.”
It’s important to keep in mind that a general meeting is not the same thing as “offering Paul the role,” so as of right now Paul has no other connection to the project other than the fact that he has discussed the possibility with Howard on several occasions. Howard recently wrapped Heart of the Sea and will next move into production on the Dan Brown adaptation Inferno, so he’s got his hands full for the next couple of years. Given that Howard has gone on radio silence with regards to The Dark Tower it’s unknown if there’s any hope of this thing getting moving again anytime soon, but it’s exciting to think about Aaron Paul tackling a big franchise film.