The adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is inching forward. Back in April, Sony Pictures resurrected the plans for the franchise, and teamed up with MRC to co-finance the ambitious project, which will include movies and a complimentary TV series.
As we previously reported, Ron Howard, who was long attached to the adaptation, decided to drop out, and now Deadline is reporting that The Dark Tower is looking to hire A Royal Affair director Nikolaj Arcel for the gig. Per Deadline, “taught himself to speak and read English in order to consume Stephen King’s books in the writer’s native tongue. Arcel is a huge fan of The Dark Tower and knows the series well. That impressed the studio, and he showed with the [Swedish version] Dragon Tattoo that he could go dark, which is important in this series, a mix of horror and fantasy.”
If the part about Arcel learning to speak English just so he could read the books is true, then there’s no one who wants this job more.
If Arcel signs on, he’ll also do a re-write on the latest script, which was penned by Akiva Goldsman (Winter’s Tale) and Jeff Pinkner (Fringe). According to Deadline, “they’ve got a lean mean script that is primarily based on the first book in the series, The Gunslinger, establishing the relationship between Roland and young protege, Jake Chambers.” But it’s still a script by the writer of Winter’s Tale, Batman & Robin, The Da Vinci Code, and other abysmal movies. Hopefully, Arcel will be a better choice to handle the latest draft of the screenplay.
Now the production will move to pick up a lead actor, and it will be interesting to see whom they choose. The Dark Tower is a popular book series, but they’ll still need a bankable lead and one who’s willing to commit to what could be a massive franchise.
For more on The Dark Tower, click here. Here’s the synopsis for The Gunslinger:
This heroic fantasy is set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace that is a dark mirror of our own. A spellbinding tale of good versus evil, it features one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations—The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages, from ancient myth to frontier western legend.
The Gunslinger’s quest involves the pursuit of The Man in Black, a liaison with the sexually ravenous Alice, and a friendship with the kid from Earth called Jake. Both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, here is stunning proof of Stephen King’s storytelling sorcery. [Amazon]
