In a clever, although slightly confusing, bit of marking for The Dark Tower, Sony Pictures has rolled out an interesting trailer for the Stephen King adaptation. It's not your traditional trailer since King is not your traditional storyteller and The Dark Tower is no traditional tale, once you scratch beneath the "good vs. evil" surface story. Instead, this new teaser takes an alternative angle by focusing on some of King's best known works on the big screen and connecting them to (and through) the Dark Tower.
King's novels have long existed within their own shared universe, something Sony has now dubbed the "Connected KINGdom" at least in their own pocket sub-universe of this space. The teaser walks viewers through familiar places--the Overlook Hotel from The Shining, the sewers beneath Derry, ME in IT, the aftermath of the high school prom in Carrie, and the title prison of The Shawshank Redemption, adapted from King's novella, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption", and a highway accident scene including the titular car from Christine--before connecting them all through one of the many Doors in The Dark Tower. It's a nice tease for King fans, though potentially a bit of a head-scratcher for those outside this clique.
Starring Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor and Katheryn Winnick, Nikolaj Arcel's The Dark Tower opens August 4th in the U.S. and August 18th in the U.K.
Check out the teaser below:
Here’s the official synopsis for The Dark Tower:
There are other worlds than these. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world’s most celebrated authors, makes its launch to the big screen. The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O’Dim, also known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.
And for more on The Dark Tower, be sure to get caught up with our recent write-ups below:
- ‘The Dark Tower’ Clocks in at a Brisk 95 Minutes
- New ‘The Dark Tower’ International Trailer Is the Film’s Best Trailer Yet
- ‘The Dark Tower’: Stephen King Weighs in on Idris Elba as the Gunslinger in a New Featurette
- ‘The Dark Tower’ Trailer Breakdown Reveals Connections to Stephen King’s Vast Mythology
- ‘The Dark Tower’: 48 Images from the Trailer Show the Gunslinger and Man in Black in Action