Wow. Didn’t see this coming.
After years of rumors and attempts, Stephen King’s magnum opus (there really is no other term for it — the series is massive) The Dark Tower may finally be getting an adaptation, and not just a movie one either.
Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are teaming together to take King’s seven book series and convert them into a movie, then a television series, according to Heat Vision. There is still some confusion over how many movies, some are saying one while others are saying three. Regardless, with this Oscar-winning trio working on it, things seem to be moving.
Lost showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were in talks to adapt the series, even buying the rights from King for a measly $19 (fans of the series will understand the significance of that number). They intended to start working on the series after Lost ended but soon realized how daunting the challenge was and didn’t think they could do it justice. They gave the rights back to King who is apparently in negotiations for this new deal.
This would be a huge undertaking. As a die-hard Stephen King fan, I’m torn. On one hand, Howard and company would get the money and resources needed to capture the scope of the series. On the other hand, would they do it justice? Would it be gritty and bizarre and desolate in the right ways? I always envisioned the books as a television series instead of a movie so I can’t even wrap my head around this. There are so, so many aspects of these books that could prove problematic.
This is still in its early stages so much is subject to chance. One thing’s for sure: this seems to be happening.
