We are going to track every damn step of Javier Bardem's road to portray Roland Deschain in Universal's adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.  Under consideration.  Offered the role.  Producer Brian Grazer even created a new stage: "locked in psychologically"  (whatever that means).  Tonight, Deadline reports Bardem is "close to sealing his deal."  Director Ron Howard is confident in his commitment, and has initiated meetings with other actors to build up a supporting cast around Bardem.Universal is launching both a feature film trilogy and two seasons of a television based on The Dark Tower mythology, which introduces several layers of complexity to the negotiation.  The contract signs Bardem for the first film and one season of television with options on the two movie sequels to score his highest salary to date.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the Dark Tower series.Every time I read/write about this project, I get excited about the sheer ambition all over again.  As a geek for continuity and structure, I love that they're locking Bardem in for the television series.  The plan is that each season of television will bridge the gap between films.  The first season of television will be a prequel, showing Roland as a young man.  Bardem would then reportedly take over the role for the second season.Barring any eleventh-hour deal breakers, we'll let you know when Bardem is officially confirmed for The Dark Tower.  His next role unites him with Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, and Rachel Weisz under the direction of Terrence Malick.  Bardem is confirmed for Cogan's Trade and is circling the villain role in Bond 23.Here's the synopsis for the Dark Tower series:

In the story, Roland Deschain is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers and the last of the line of “Arthur Eld”, his world’s analogue of King Arthur. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West but is also magical. While the magical aspects are largely gone from Mid-World, some vestiges of them remain, along with the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland’s quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to be the nexus of all universes. Roland’s world is said to have “moved on”, and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams as mighty nations have been torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish without a trace and time does not flow in an orderly fashion. Even the Sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland’s motives, goals and age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries. [Wikipedia]